Nocturnal Transmissions
by Smeg699
Summary: Interesting things sometimes happen at night. Especially, it seems, when the Barden Bellas are out camping. A Bechloe piece I had to get out of my brain.
1. Nocturnal Transmissions

**A/N:** Hey guys, I hope you enjoy this. This is a fluffy little piece that came to me actually as a prompt to Zap to get him to write something he was bitching about. Needless to say, I liked the idea, so I stole it. Don't worry, for those who care I'm still working on the first chapter of The Devil of Barden, and I also have the first draft of the next chapter of Timbre to work on. So hopefully this is just the first in a series of really rather different pieces of writing from me. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this, please leave a review and let me know what you think!

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 **Nocturnal Transmissions**

A whisper of fabric brushing against fabric in the otherwise relative quiet of the night told Beca that Chloe had just come back. A slight rustling from outside the small, two-person tent in which she was currently laying was all the evidence that the young girl needed to know that her tent-mate had returned. Despite the reposed state that the brunette senior from Barden University was in, with eyes tightly shut and breathing low, even, and steady, Beca was in fact quite awake. Beca had, as a matter of fact, been awake practically from the time that the redhead who was now unzipping the tent entrance had gotten up and slipped out into the dark night.

If she was going to be honest with herself, actually, she'd been awake slightly longer than that because of the damned rock that had been poking into her shoulder blade since she'd been foolish enough to swap sides with the redhead shortly after they'd lain down. She should have known that Chloe was up to something. The four-time senior had been too sweet, too innocent as she asked Beca to swap sides. Of course, Beca was naturally powerless to resist any demand from the redhead, so it didn't matter that Beca had known that, to quote that fish looking dude from Star Wars that Jesse loved so much he tried to make her watch them once a year with him, sometime in early May she thought generally speaking, "It's a trap!"

Regardless of whatever movie quotes or conniving best friend-slash-co-captain antics that may have happened, Beca hadn't really been asleep since the two girls had ordered lights out two hours ago. Dozing was the best that it could be called. A light doze, at best.

Regardless, when the redhead had gotten up, for whatever reason she had, Beca had woken from that doze, both from the movement and from the sudden coldness that snuck into the now empty space beside her. She had tried to tell the redhead that seeing as they both had their own sleeping bags, curtesy of said redhead as Beca had always despised camping, they didn't need to sleep right next to each other. Well, beyond the confines imposed upon them by the interior space of the tiny tent, that is.

Chloe had laughed, though, at the suggestion and showed Beca a "neat trick" about the two sleeping bags. Namely, they could be partially unzipped, and then re-zipped to each other to create a small, two person bag. Beca had rolled her eyes.

A sudden gust of wind caused by Chloe opening the tent flap brought Beca back to the here and now. Chloe slid inside quickly and zipped the tent closed before carefully lifting the edge of the sleeping bag and slipping back inside it. Beca had been fully prepared to try and remain sleeping during this process, but she hadn't factored in all the relevant details. Namely, Chloe's feet were like a pair ice cubes on her leg.

Unable to hide her sudden jerking away as he tried to protect her poor, under protected legs from the two rather petite blocks of dry ice that had just slid into her warm nest, Beca felt Chloe freeze, half-way in the bag. She could feel the redhead's gaze on her as Chloe sat still, obviously looking over Beca's face. Cautiously, as though testing a hypothesis, one foot started shifting towards her left leg, the one closest to Chloe. Beca did her best to hold it still, still trying to maintain the illusion that she was asleep. Chloe pressed her frigid metatarsals against the, Beca now realized, exposed skin of her calf for a few seconds.

Clenching her jaw and screwing her eyes shut, while at the same time hoping that Chloe wasn't able to see her actions in the poor light of the tent, Beca endeavored to hold still. After what felt like a solid hour, maybe an hour and a half, Beca couldn't take it anymore and jerked her leg away.

"Aha! I knew you were faking!" Chloe whispered triumphantly, choosing not to pursue the brunette's leg with her foot.

"Yeah, yeah. Just shut up and get back in here, it's freezing outside!" Beca grumped, refusing to open her eyes as though she could deny Chloe at least that satisfaction.

"You know, you'd think someone who grew up in Maine, where it actually snows on the regular, would have a more accurate description of 'freezing'…" The redhead said, and Beca could hear the laughter in her voice as Chloe _finally_ settled back into the bag.

"I have a perfectly accurate description of it. Those torture devices you call toes!" Beca said, turning her head away from the redhead.

"Awww, Becs! You totes love my toes, I know it. Why else would you paint 'em for me…?" Chloe asked, teasingly. Beca's head snapped back towards Chloe, her eyes wide and glaring as she felt said toes inching closer to her.

"Beale, you touch me with those ice cubes and you can sleep in the lake…" Beca's voice, a half register or so higher than normal due to the panic she no doubt felt, stopped the encroaching winter soldiers as effectively as a chasm.

"You wouldn't dare…" Chloe said challengingly, though Beca noted that her feet slid just slightly backwards, inching a tiny bit further away from her leg.

"Try me." Beca said, smirking at the redhead while quirking a single eyebrow at her. Deciding her teasing was at an end, apparently, Chloe moved her feet back over a safe distance from Beca as she conceded the point. Softening her expression at the evident victory she'd just won, Beca couldn't help but ask, "Also, how the hell are your feet so cold? Weren't you wearing slippers out there? In fact, what were you doing out of the tent anyway? Even you, with your impossible small bladder, couldn't possibly have needed to, well, you know, already…"

"Keeping track of my bathroom breaks, eh Becs?" Chloe said, rolling onto her side to look down at Beca and curling her feet up behind herself.

"Ugh. Why do you always focus on the… You know what, never mind." Beca said, turning to roll over herself, which as a miracle unto itself somehow gave her a slight bit of relief from the rock that had been stabbing her.

"Oh goodness, Becs. No need to pout. Sheesh." Chloe said, reaching out to place a tentative hand on the brunette's shoulder and roll her back onto her back… And onto the rock. The smile that Chloe was giving her, however, made it all worthwhile. Pressing herself into Beca's side, the redhead answered her original questions as she made herself comfortable, "My feet are cold because it's night time. The ambient air temperature drops during the night as the sun is no longer shining directly on this side of the planet anymore. I was, in fact, wearing my slippers, however it is, as previously described, cold outside. As for what I was doing, well, I was making sure the rest of the Bellas were sleeping."

Beca rolled her eyes at the redhead's tone and shook her head. Sighing heavily the brunette shrugged her shoulders slightly as she said, "You know, your feet would have been warmer if you had accepted my perfectly reasonable suggestion of wearing socks."

"And you know my rule, Becs. It hasn't changed since your freshman year." Chloe said, seemingly trying to press even closer to Beca as she shivered slightly with the cold.

"I know, I know. 'No socks in bed.'" The brunette quoted, wrapping an arm unconsciously around Chloe.

"Exactly. No socks in bed. Though there are times I think it might be ok to violate that rule, I'm not about to start now. Brrrr, it really is cold though…" Chloe said, finally surrendering to the chill that she felt and shivering against Beca, who was deliciously warm.

"…" The silence from Beca was nearly thunderous as she pretended she could fight against the pull that was Chloe Beale. And it only lasted about five seconds before she was saying, "Fine. Jesus, Beale, you're gonna be the death of me when I catch pneumonia though…"

Chloe squirmed happily in delight as she straightened her legs and twined them around Beca's own legs. The squirming, with Chloe's body pressed so tightly against her own, caused many, many sensations that Beca didn't want to think about to roil through her. So many feelings, in fact, that the cold shock of Chloe's feet was actually a relief, like a cold shower to her overheated self.

Silence swallowed the pair as they settled into what had become a fairly standard activity for them, cuddling together before bed. If you had told her four years ago that she'd soon become someone's "cuddle-bug", Beca would have laughed in your face, then probably punched you. But, sure enough, within three months of starting at Barden University, "sleepovers" had become a regular activity in the dorm room she'd shared that year with Kimmy Jin, the silent Korean assassin, or at least that's what Beca was fairly sure she was going to school for. Of course, these weren't your normal sleepovers that girls from Beca's middle and high school had indulged in. Replete with ice cream, hair doing, sappy romantic movies, and gossiping with a dozen or so of your closest girlfriends. Nope, these had been two person affairs consisting of Chloe barging her way into Beca's room, much to Kimmy Jin's irritation, and insinuating herself into Beca's blankets with a puppy dog expression and a promise that, "This movie will be better."

It very rarely was, but Beca Mitchell, as previously stated, could never say no to Chloe Beale. Even after she'd started dating Jesse following their first win of the ICCA Championships the sleepovers continued. Albeit with a slight break, but continued they had. Much to the chagrin of her then-boyfriend who had made several comments about why she was so willing to "shack up" with that redhead when he had to practically twist her arm to get her to sit beside him at dinner.

That, among numerous other reasons, had led to their break up during her sophomore year. But they had since mended fences, realizing they were much better as friends than as a couple. And, throughout it all, the "sleepovers" continued. Chloe had always been her rock in the river, her port in the storm, her safe haven in all the turmoil that seemed to plague her collegiate life. Chloe was her confidant, her co-conspirator, her co-captain, and her best friend in the world. Without Chloe, life for Beca would be meaningless and so the brunette was willing to do absolutely anything to keep the redhead as her friend.

At least, that's what Beca told herself over and over every time she found herself in this position. Which meant that she heard it a lot, because it was almost a guaranteed fact that at least three nights a week, nowadays at least, the pair would be in one or the other's bedroom in the Bellas house curled up tight against each other under blankets. She had told herself that, it was her mantra. It was the thing that kept her grounded. The thing that kept her from doing anything stupid. It was the thing that kept her from what she wanted the most in the world. The one thing she couldn't be without.

Chloe heaved a sigh beside her as the redhead obviously struggled to find sleep as well. Beca knew why she was wide awake, the same reason she was always wide awake whenever they slept together. She'd remain wide awake until exhaustion took her and knocked her out. Chloe, however, usually didn't have this problem.

"Penny for your thoughts." Beca whispered, knowing the redhead would easily hear her.

"Just thinking about everything." Chloe answered back, her breath tickling over the skin of Beca's neck as the redhead shifted slightly beside her.

"That's kinda vague there, Chlo." Beca said, laughing briefly.

"Well, you only offered a penny, what do you expect?" Chloe answered, whacking Beca lightly with one of her now warmed up feet.

"A little more than that…" Beca said, smirking in the darkness even though Chloe couldn't see it.

"Put that smirk away, Becs. I can feel it…" Chloe said, poking her in the side. After Beca's face settled into a slight smile, the redhead continued, "I dunno, Becs… I'm just, you know, thinking about it all. Worlds, graduating, what'll happen after that. I mean, who knows what's next, you know?"

"I do. I mean, I'm sure you remember everything that happened at the lodge, right? It wasn't that long ago." Beca said, her hand idly tracing patterns on Chloe's back through her shirt.

"Hmph. You ask me that as we're here in a tent, camping with the Bellas. As if that wasn't the germination of my idea to do an actual camping trip before finals, Worlds, and the rest." Chloe said, and Beca knew she was trying to sound indignant, but failing miserably at it. The butterflies that could always be found flitting around in her stomach when she was so close to Chloe increased their activity to what might be called swarming as the redhead's own hand began to run lightly over her stomach. She tried desperately to control the involuntary spasms when Chloe's finger brushed over the hem of the shirt to graze over the bare skin between it and the top her sweats. The redhead didn't even seem to notice the effect, which Beca counted as a win.

"Yeah, well…" Beca said when she felt her voice was finally under control. Closing her eyes because she knew she'd regret it, Beca let her hand slide down to the hem of Chloe's own shirt and pull it up slightly, so her fingers could run over the perfectly smooth, flawless expanse of skin of the redhead's lower back. Every time they cuddled in bed Beca told herself she wouldn't touch Chloe's skin. She knew she was just torturing herself with something she could never truly have. But every time she couldn't resist the pull that was Chloe Beale. Speaking up again to try and cover what she'd just done Beca said, "Honestly, though, I don't know how you talked me into a camping trip either. I hate the woods. I hate camping. I hate…"

"You love sharing a tent with me. That was all it took. A promise not to seal you into a 'fart infested balloon' with all the others, and you caved." Chloe said, and Beca felt the redhead smiling against her collarbone. Of course, it hadn't really been that easy. There had been some pleading, by all the Bellas as a matter of fact, and a bit of puppy-dog eyes from Chloe herself. In the end though, as Beca was realizing more and more, there was no saying no to Chloe Beale.

"Hmph! I might not have if you'd told me how cold it was going to be." Beca said trying, and failing, to sound grumpy.

"I'll warm you up, don't worry." The redhead shot back mischievously almost immediately. The response, so natural from Chloe, so obviously flirtatious and tempting, made Beca freeze for just a moment. She only was able to move again when the redhead's hands came together off to the side and Chloe gave a fairly good impression of Mr. Miagi warming his hands up by vigorously rubbing them together. After a second, two hot palms pressed against her bare skin as Chloe quickly slid Beca's shirt up to just under her breasts, which most definitely earned a squeak from the brunette.

"Jesus, Chlo! Give a little warning before stripping me! Fuck." Beca said in startled alarm as her mind tried to cope with the heat that was spreading from Chloe's hands through her body. And which ended up focused in a pool of liquid heat at the apex of her legs.

"Don't worry, I will. When I get around to that." Chloe whispered. Even in the moonlight filtering through the tent, Beca could see the wink Chloe gave her.

Trying desperately to get her body back under her control it took Beca a minute or three to realize that she hadn't moved Chloe's hands. They had since cooled down to normal body temperature, though the heat radiating outwards from them hadn't waned in the slightest. Carefully marshalling her breathing, Beca figured that maybe talking might help. Talking about something other than Chloe's previous topic that is, so Beca spoke up again, "It is kind of scary, isn't it? Not knowing what's going to happen… After. I mean, will we even still…"

Beca couldn't finish the words that got stuck in her throat as her biggest fear about everything related to Chloe came to a head. As the silence hung heavy and full of ominous portents around them, Beca noticed that Chloe had stilled almost completely. That, in and of itself, was a feat to be astounded by. Beca had only very rarely seen the redhead completely still. She was almost always moving in some fashion or another whether it was tapping her foot to some unheard tune, or twiddling her fingers in her own, or more often than not Beca's, hair. Without even needing to look at her, Beca knew that Chloe was weighing carefully some serious, life-altering decisions in her head and needed all the processing power her brain could muster to come to her decision.

"It is scary." She said, her voice even quieter than before and almost seeming to make Lily sound like she was shouting. Beca waited, knowing the redhead had more to say. Sure enough, it wasn't long before Beca could see in the dim light of the tent Chloe's head rising up to stare directly into her eyes. Cerulean pools of tumultuous emotions gazed unblinkingly at her for the span of a heartbeat, or maybe it was the life-cycle of one of the stars Beca imagined she could see reflecting in them. A heartbeat, then Chloe spoke again and Beca read as much as heard, "There are no tomorrows left, really. It's now or never."

The confusion that Beca knew was starting to fill her own navy blue eyes didn't even have a chance to take root before Chloe was moving. Moving closer. Much, much closer.

Before her brain could process what was happening, she felt her world shrinking to a single point. Chloe's lips were pressing against her own, and it was everything she'd ever dreamed it could be. Everything and more.

Time was frozen for Beca as the soft skin pressed against her lips, molded against her own skin and brought forth a torrent of emotions that the brunette normally kept so carefully in check. Before she knew what was happening she found that her hand, completely of its own volition and without any direction from her brain, had gotten tangled into Chloe's flowing, ginger tresses and was holding on for dear life. Her tongue, again without any conscious thought, darted out, running delicately along Chloe's bottom lip.

The moan that answered the action was a noise so heavenly that Beca knew angels would be jealous if they'd heard it. Even better than that, though, was the feeling of Chloe's own lips opening in response, Chloe's tongue darting out to dance with hers in a sensuous, erotic tango that took the breath from Beca's lungs and elicited a groan that she wouldn't have even recognized as herself if she hadn't heard it. Pulling back, gasping for breath, Beca stared, dumbfounded up at the redhead whose eyes were only now just opening up and looking back at her.

"What…? Chloe… We…" Words failed her, as they so often did during her most emotional times. Beca had never and would never be called a wordsmith. But music was something that always spoke to her. And Chloe knew that. Smiling brightly, the redhead began to sing softly.

"Time is going by so much faster than I. And I'm starting to regret not telling all of this to you…" The lilting, haunting quality of Chloe's singing, the thing that had captured Beca's attention so completely four years previously, easily sang the first couple lines of a song that Beca immediately recognized. With a wistful smile on her lips, Chloe spoke once more, "I couldn't let you go, Becs. Not without… I've wanted to tell you… For so long. But I was scared. Scared that'd you say no…"

Instead of answering, Beca rose up, crashing her lips against Chloe's a kiss just as fierce and passionate as the one which the redhead had just given her. This second kiss lasted longer than the first, each girl testing and probing, tongues darting back and forth in a struggle for dominance. In the end, neither won, but both were satisfied, though definitely not sated.

"I want you." Chloe said, her voice husky and filled with desire. Her hands, having never moved from Beca's stomach and side, started to slide upwards as Chloe said, "I need you, Beca."

"Then take me." Beca found herself answering. It was the only thing Chloe had been waiting to hear, apparently. In a flash her shirt was off, up and over her head to rustle against the wall of the tent. Beca didn't even notice the cold as Chloe bent, her lips finding the hot skin of her throat and latched on. A groan sounded from deep inside her, rising to the surface as Chloe's lips, tongue and teeth raked the soft flesh of her throat savagely. It was only the redhead's hand, which had been lifted from where it was helping to hold Chloe up, clapping over her mouth that reminded her that there were either other girls in relatively close proximity to her and that they would need to be very quiet if they were to do what seemed likely was about to happen. What Beca knew was going to happen.

Her hand found the back of Chloe's neck as the redhead, delighting in the reaction she'd gotten, started to kiss down over Beca's collarbone and upwards, curving around the swell of her breast. Hot, wet kisses marked a fiery path between her breasts before bending around and circling upwards towards the aching tip. Beca's back arched and her hips thrust against Chloe's thigh, which had somehow inserted itself between her legs, when the ginger's mouth closed over her nipple. Suffused in warm, wet heat, Beca felt the redhead's tongue darting out to flick the tender skin and she moaned her pleasure, this time little more than a quiet whisper and rumbling in her chest.

Desperately impatient for more skin to touch, Beca interrupted the redhead's ministrations reluctantly as she insistently tugged the hem of Chloe's shirt upwards. When the redhead was finally topless above her, looking down with a rueful grin on her face, Beca felt heat rush through her to her core as she saw the flawless porcelain skin now exposed to the moonlight.

"Fuck me, you're beautiful…" She whispered, unable to control herself.

"I plan to fuck you, beautiful." The redhead said, her hands coming up to cover Beca's breasts and squeeze firmly. As Beca arched her back, trying to press more of herself into Chloe's hands, the redhead grinned delighted and dropped back down to lavish kisses over both breasts. Occasionally she took a moment to lick, suck, or gently nibble one of Beca's nipples, and each time she did, the brunette ground her center against Chloe's thigh.

Not wanting to be thought unwilling to reciprocate, Beca's hands now roamed over the exposed skin of Chloe's back, sides and chest. When her hands found the supple flesh of the redhead's chest, Beca moaned in delight again as she squeezed and felt the erect nipples poking hard into her palms. Chloe, apparently approving of this action, moaned around one nipple and bit down slightly harder, which drew a shuddering gasp from Beca.

All too soon, yet not nearly soon enough, Beca felt Chloe's kisses starting to descend down the swell of her breasts and onto her taut stomach which was writhing and roiling with the pleasures that the redhead was giving her. Accommodating the redhead as much as she could by moving upwards, Beca found that Chloe, flexible as she had always been, had no trouble settling herself between Beca's legs.

Delicate fingers found their way into the waistband of Beca's sweats, brushing over inflamed skin as they grasped the material and slid it down Beca's thighs, past her knees and with a little finagling off of at least one foot. It was only when, after settling back into her spot between Beca's now eagerly spread legs, that the brunette realized that more than her sweats had come off. Chloe, it seemed wanted no more barriers between them.

The redhead's breath, ragged and panting, caressed Beca's lips, the hot air feeling almost cool in contrast to the heat emanating from her center. Nearly unable to stop herself, Beca gasped and jumped as Chloe's fingers grazed the tender skin of her inner thigh teasingly.

"Chloe…" Beca breathed, her hips twisting and writing of their own accord as Chloe's fingers danced tauntingly over her flesh, always coming so near and yet so far from where she wanted them.

"Yes, baby?" Chloe asked innocently.

"Please…" Beca said, her breath hitching as one long, graceful finger slid lightly over her lips collecting drops of the moisture that had gathered there on its tip.

"Please what?" Chloe asked as Beca opened her eyes to look down in time to see the redhead sucking the teasing digit into her mouth to taste the morning dew that she'd just harvested.

"Please… Please fuck me, Chloe. I need you." Beca whimpered, like actually whimpered. Beca couldn't remember whimpering in her life, at least not since she'd been a really young girl. But it was, apparently, just what Chloe wanted.

"All you had to do was ask." And nearly before the words were out of here mouth, Chloe's head dipped again and this time it wasn't the redhead's breath she felt sliding over her sensitive skin. It was her tongue.

Beca's left hand had somehow managed to lodge itself into her mouth, which was the only reason that the rest of the Bellas, or the entire camp ground for that matter, didn't hear her moans as Chloe's skilled tongue deftly parted her lips and stroked her core from bottom to top. Fireworks seemed to explode in Beca's head as her right hand wound itself into the disheveled mop of ginger locks that was all Beca could see of Chloe, who was very much doing what Beca wanted.

The redhead's tongue, so very, very talented at making music, was now playing Beca like a finely tuned instrument. Each flicking stroke, each probing thrust, each luxuriously languid lick brought the brunette closer and closer to crescendo. Beca found herself biting down hard on her hand, knowing she'd be leaving teeth marks but not caring in the slightest as she felt the redhead shifting. The deliciously skilled tongue didn't pause in its symphony of pleasure as Chloe moved, bringing her hand to work as well. Beca's hips thrust as two fingers suddenly filled her, her head pressing back against the pillows as a not-so-silent scream was almost muffled by her hand.

"God… Chloe… I'm so close." Beca said, twisting and writing though Chloe seemed to need no guidance as she rushed Beca towards the precipice looming before her. The words were muffled by her hand, but she knew Chloe heard them because she felt the redhead purr against her skin. As Newton had proven so many years ago, for every action there is a reaction, and that purr resulted in Beca screaming out a very audible, "Chloe!"

Just as Beca felt herself nearing the edge of oblivion, the tongue paused, the fingers slowed slightly, and the brunette looked down to see Chloe staring up at her. As the redhead spoke, Beca nearly came undone, "Cum for me."

Three words Beca had never expected to hear from Chloe Beale. And Beca had never been able to say no to Chloe.

"Shawshank! Get your flat butt out of bed right now!"

Amy's voice broke through Beca's unconscious buffer, jolted the brunette awake in a terrified instant. As she sat bolt upright the blanket that the Bellas had been sharing in the group tent at the Lodge of Fallen Leaves slid to her waist. Her body was thrumming with an orgasm so close, and yet now so far out of reach as to basically be on Mars.

Her breathing was ragged and sweat covered her skin. The dream was so vivid in her mind, so present in her mind that it took Beca a few seconds to realize where she was. On a retreat. With all the Bellas. With Chloe so close, and so far, far away. And speaking of Chloe…

"Morning, Becs…" The voice was right behind her, and Beca turned quickly to see Chloe lying there, looking up at her.

"Uhh… Morning Chloe." Beca said, hoping she wasn't as red as she felt. And hoping even more desperately that she hadn't said…

"Sweet dreams?" The innocence of the tone told Beca everything she needed to know. And she turned around towards Aubrey's voice calling from outside the tent.

"Beca. Chloe. Let's go, now aca-bitches!"

Beca was trying to calm herself down as she felt Chloe moving behind her. Only when she heard the tent flap rustling as Chloe exited the tent was Beca able to get herself under control. Taking a deep breath, she gathered her scattered and nearly broken shards of consciousness and moved to exit the tent. She saw the Bellas emerging all off in the distance gathering together, minus Chloe who was closer and talking to Aubrey. Not wanting to look at the redhead yet, whose back was turned towards her, Beca started quietly moving towards the rest of the group. When she got close, though, she heard something that shocked her.

Chloe, apparently unaware that she'd left the tent was saying, "I had the craziest dream last night, Bree… And I think, I think maybe Becs did too."


	2. Nocturnal Serenading

**A/N:** Hey everyone! I know I said that the previous chapter was going to be a stand-alone thing, but I changed my mind. I felt it was necessary to continue because, well, it's Bechloe and I don't need anymore reason than that. For people familiar with my normal works, I apologize for this chapter being so short. But, like Anna Kendrick, it only grew until it was the perfect size, then it stopped. If people are into this, and the previous one, let me know cuz I have a possible idea for another chapter if it's something people want to read. Also big thanks to Electronis Zappa for beta'ing this so quickly when I dropped it in his lap unexpectedly a few hours ago... Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

 **Nocturnal Serenading**

*CRASH*

"Son of a bitch!"

The sound of something metallic crashing to the floor followed by a quiet but vehemently uttered curse jolted Chloe upright in her bed. A muffled thump telling her that her phone must have just slid off her bed and hit the floor. Looking around her darkened bedroom in the Bellas House on the Barden University campus Chloe struggled to make anything out in the dim light.

Slowly her memory started to come back to her as her mind woke up. She had been waiting for Beca to get home from her internship. She had been playing with her phone, surfing Facebook and Instagram, and must have dozed off. Swinging her legs out of bed, and promptly stepping on her phone, Chloe stood up, realizing that the noise she had heard could only have been one thing. Combined with what was obviously Beca's voice, the redhead knew that her co-captain must be home. The clock on her bedside table read 11:45 PM.

Not really caring that she's only wearing the shortest of her shorts, Stacie always gave her a hard time about her ass hanging out of the bottom of them though she never really cared, and a tight, pink tank top Chloe made her way to her bedroom door. As soon as she did she was struck by the silence of the house. It shocked her a little because as of late it wasn't unusual to find people singing or dancing well into the early hours of the morning… And sometimes the late hours of the morning. Their time at the Lodge of Falling Leaves seemed to have made all the girls realize just how precious these last few weeks were before everyone graduated and went off in their own directions.

Thinking about it while sneaking towards the stairs Chloe remembered that Stacie had mentioned over dinner that there was some party at one of the sorority houses. Most of the girls had chosen to go with her, though the redhead had eventually declined when Beca had texted her back to say that she'd had a long day and just wanted to come home and "Netflix and chill".

Another sound caught her attention as she approached the top of the stairs. Beca's voice was drifting up, and unless Chloe was much mistaken, the brunette was singing. Without even realizing it was there, a beaming smile had lit up Chloe's face when she realized that Beca was singing in the kitchen while she cooked. As soon as realized she was grinning like an idiot, the redhead tried to wipe the smile from her lips, or at least lessen its intensity. When she failed to do either it dawned on her, as it had numerous times per day over the last few months, that she really had it bad.

Despite Beca telling her, back at the Lodge, to "Sack up, dude" Chloe hadn't fully committed to said sacking up yet. She'd agreed to graduate, to begin moving on with her with her life as a teacher of music to underprivileged children, or to exotic dancing. But the thing that she'd been battling with herself the most that required her to sack up was down in the kitchen right now, singing as she no doubt was cooking up some eggs." "Tonight's the night, Beale. You're gonna tell her how you feel tonight. No more excuses, no more dodging around it. No more subtlety. You know how blind that girl is. Be obvious. You can do this!" Chloe whispered to herself as she came down the bottom of the steps. Her steps faltered for a moment as she heard the words of the song Beca was singing.

"I'm criticized… But all your bullets ricochet." Beca's voice was like a siren's song to the redhead as the senior sang out one of Chloe's all-time favorite songs. A song that, to this day, was still one of Chloe's self-professed "lady jams."

And Beca knew that. Chloe knew that she knew it because Chloe had, in a moment of weakness years earlier, said as much to the brunette. And in tribute to said brunette's aforementioned stubbornness, or maybe obliviousness would be more appropriate, Beca hadn't understood at first. And so, in typical Chloe Beale fashion, the redhead had elaborated by saying how the song "really builds".

Of course, thinking back to her and Beca's encounter in that shower wasn't helping her. Thoughts of Beca standing under the hot spray of water, the way it coursed through her hair and ran down her back in rivulets. How it had caressed her soft skin in ways that Chloe had, since that day, longed to do, was definitely not what the redhead should be thinking about. But Beca was still singing _that_ song…

"You shoot me down, but I get up… I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose. Fire away, fire away." Beca's voice grew even louder as Chloe finally stepped into the doorway to the semi-dark kitchen. The brunette had only turned on a few lights, just enough to see by as she made her way around. No doubt why she'd dropped whatever it was she'd dropped earlier.

Chloe had been right, however, as to the reason for the singing. She wasn't even sure if Beca was aware she did it. But the redhead had noticed over the last couple years, that Beca had a tendency to sing, or at least hum, when doing most mundane tasks. And as Chloe saw Beca pushing the eggs in the pan as she scrambled them up, the redhead realized she was smiling again. Fondly this time, as Beca swayed in time with her song.

It was obvious that the brunette had only recently gotten back from her internship. She must have taken a shower already, and Chloe wasn't sure how that hadn't woken her up, because her hair was still damp. She had tied it up in a messy bun on top of her head and had on an old t-shirt that was a little ripped and a touch too short. Of course, Chloe wasn't complaining as it meant that whenever Beca moved the shirt would lift tantalizingly and reveal the smooth, pale skin of Beca's lower back and sides.

And, after all, Chloe was only human. She bit her lower lip as her hand, of its own accord, grazed lightly over her tank top, brushing the top of her left breast. She couldn't help herself, really. Beca's voice singing _Titanium_ as it built towards the chorus, combined with the soft skin of her back which drew the redhead's mind back to images of their shared shower so many years ago. She couldn't stop herself even if she wanted to.

And she definitely didn't want to.

"Ricochet, you take your aim. Fire away, fire away…" Beca continued to sing, completely oblivious to her redheaded co-captain standing in the doorway. And what said co-captain was doing as for the second time Chloe's hand brushed over the thin material, this time more deliberately, her fingers brushing over the soft swell of her chest before cupping it firmly.

The redhead bit down harder on her lip to stifle the moan as she felt heat course through her body to pool in her lower abdomen. She knew what she was doing was wrong. Touching herself like that while Beca sang innocently right in front of her. But it had been days since she'd scratched this particular itch. Maybe longer with everything that had been going on with getting the Bellas ready for Worlds. And Beca was singing her song. Beca…

"You shoot me down, but I won't fall. I am titanium…" The redhead was mesmerized by the sight in front of her. In her mind's eye Beca wasn't wearing that old t-shirt of hers and a pair of Barden sweat pants. No, as far as Chloe was concerned, Beca was stark naked and still dripping from her shower. And she wasn't singing to her pan of eggs, she was singing to Chloe.

Singing _for_ Chloe.

"You shoot me down, but I won't fall. I am titanium…" Her left hand was sliding down over her stomach, she realized, as Beca's voice took up the last part of the chorus. Chloe's hand had slipped into the waistband of her shorts, her fingers easily gliding over the silky material of her thong towards the warm, wet heat she could feel. The heat that only seemed to grow as the song Beca sang built higher and higher.

Her eyes were half closed, heavily lidded with desire as she longed for the sensation of stroking fingers. Beca's fingers, her fingers, she didn't care anymore. She just needed to be touched. Her hand was just brushing over her core, her arousal evident in the wetness she felt through the thin material, when Beca turned to put her eggs onto a plate.

"Jesus Christ, Chlo! You scared the shit out of me! Wait… What are you…" Beca's voice, suddenly no longer singing her lady jam, brought reality back to Chloe in the harshest way possible. She had one hand squeezing her left breast. Her eyes, now wide open in surprise, had been practically closed with desire. Her hand was still tucked away down her shorts, the movements of her fingers no doubt obvious through the tight material as her fingers rested on her wet center. Panic flooded every nook and cranny of her brain as the scene filled itself in for the redhead.

"Shit!" Was all Chloe could manage before she yanked her hand from her shorts and turned, running out of the room as fast as she could manage. She heard Beca calling out to her, yelling at her from behind, but Chloe didn't pay attention. She ran down the hall, considered for the briefest second running out of the house to drown herself in the lake before rejecting it and, with a hand on the banister to help her turn at top speed, dashed up the stairs towards her room.

She was just shutting the door when she realized she heard another pair of footsteps thundering up the stairs. Beca's. Chloe panicked and started to click the lock over, not wanting to face the brunette, not ever again. Before she could get it fully locked, however, something thudded into her door and the knob was wrenched open.

Knowing she was caught, Chloe did the only logical thing her brain could put together at the time. She backed hastily across the room, her eyes darting everywhere as the door was opened slowly. Beca stood in the doorway, her eyes on Chloe as the redhead looked everywhere but at her. She briefly thought of trying to dive out the window, but quickly dismissed the idea as she was on the second floor and that wasn't a drop she thought she'd come through unscathed.

The door closing, and the lock clicking over brought the redhead's attention back to Beca. The shorter girl was standing at the doorway still, her back pressed against the wood as she watched Chloe calmly.

"Becs… I… Uh… That wasn't what… I mean, I was sleeping walking, or something. I must have been…" Chloe said, her own voice betraying her as it cracked multiple times throughout her hastily uttered sentence. Her back was now firmly pressed against her dresser, as far from the door as she could get and still be in the same room. Beca took a step forward and her eyes shot wide open again.

"Chlo…" The brunette's voice was soft, calming. Raising her hands slowly in front of her, Beca went on in the same calm tone, "Chloe, I think we both know that you don't sleep walk."

"I… I… Uh…" Chloe stammered, her heart hammering in her chest as Beca took another slow step towards her. Chloe's room wasn't large by any means, and Beca's two steps had the brunette only a few steps away from arms reach. Chloe started to panic. And, as was Chloe's typical habit when she was panicked or otherwise stressed, she started to babble, "Beca, I'm really sorry. I don't know what happened. I mean, you were singing that song, and I haven't… I mean, not for weeks. And then there was…"

Her words cut off as she heard Beca's voice, singing softly, "You shout it out, but I can't hear a word you say…"

Her eyes snapped to Beca who had, while Chloe had been babbling and looking everywhere in the room but at the brunette, to see her standing right in front of her, inches away. Her gaze was captured by the dark, navy blue orbs before her as the song, the catalyst for the entire evening's events, seeped through her panic fogged brain.

"I'm talking loud, not saying much…" Chloe sang back in a whisper, her voice several octaves lower than normal. Beca's face broke out in a grin as the short brunette closed the last few inches and crashed her lips onto Chloe's in a passionate kiss. The redhead shuddered at the contact, so long desired. The feeling of Beca's full lips pressing against her own, moving and gliding as they sought to possess her. She could, she realized amusingly in one distracted corner of her brain that was still functioning rationally, taste Beca's cherry chap stick that the brunette always put on as soon as she got out of the shower.

The taste of the chap stick, though, was driven from her brain as the brunette's tongue slid over her bottom lip, begging permission. Chloe instantly opened her mouth and it slipped in without a moment's hesitation. Chloe moaned into Beca in response, her own tongue quickly fighting for dominance, gliding and twisting against Beca's.

Her hands had found their way to Beca's hips, somehow, and Chloe found herself pulling the brunette against her, trying to get more contact. Beca's own hands hadn't been idle either, wandering over Chloe's body as the pair continued to duel with their tongues, first in Chloe's mouth then in Beca's as each girl won for the briefest of moments. Another moan was ripped from the redhead as one of Beca's wandering hands slid up her back and into her hair where it got a firm grip and the brunette gave a gentle pull.

Finally, and extremely reluctantly, Chloe broke the kiss apart. Her breath coming in ragged pants as the fire that had been ignited and then doused so thoroughly downstairs instantly lit up again, it's intensity exponentially higher than before. Beca was breathing hard too, Chloe could hear it, could feel the shorter girl's breath rushing hot and heavy over the skin of her neck.

"Jesus, Chlo… Do you know long…?" Beca started to ask, but before the brunette could finish Chloe swept down to capture her lips in another searing kiss. Not hesitating even a second Chloe thrust her tongue into Beca's mouth, resuming the war that had just started.

Chloe realized that her hands were clenching and squeezing Beca's hips, trying desperately to pull the brunette into her more. Beca, it seemed, didn't mind as during one particularly hard squeeze, the brunette let out a low, guttural moan into Chloe's mouth. The brunette's retaliation was swift and intense. Her own hand not tangled in the redhead's mane, slipped under Chloe's tank top and pushed upwards, bunching the thin material before it as it blazed a trail of fire over Chloe's skin to stop just short of Chloe's breasts.

The redhead, unable to breath properly as her mind scattered under the searing touch of Beca's lips, the insistent tugging and pulling of her hair, and the fiery blaze that Beca's hand on her bare skin caused, pulled back away from the kiss to gulp for air. Chloe could feel Beca grinning mischievously against her neck as her fingers teased, drawing small circles on her skin just under her breasts. Chloe felt herself groan as Beca's lips started to kiss her neck, sucking and biting gently as her fingers moved relentlessly.

"If I'm not mistaken, I think I interrupted something earlier…" The brunette whispered, her lips still pressing into the skin of Chloe's neck. Beca's voice, so husky with desire, sent another shudder through Chloe before she felt the brunette's fingers start to move. Slowly, as though giving Chloe a chance to reconsider before things went too far, as if that were an option, Beca's fingers crept upwards, sliding under the thin, pink fabric. When the brunette's short digits finally reached the swell of Chloe's heaving chest, the redhead's head fell backwards and would have struck the dresser had it not been for Beca's hand, still gripping her hair tightly.

As Beca's hand covered her breast, and Chloe felt her nipple rubbing against the shorter girl's palm, the redhead couldn't help but tug harder on Beca's hips, her own thrusting forward to meet them. Chloe felt Beca chuckle against her throat as her hand squeezed softly, teasingly, as though testing the redhead. Chloe moaned encouragingly into the night air of her bedroom at the action. Then groaned as she felt the younger girl release her hair and her head finally fell onto the dresser.

Her head shot up almost immediately, however, as she felt Beca move away, putting a few inches between them. Her eyes immediately met the brunette's and she saw desire dancing there, and lust. Wanton need and desperation. She knew that her own eyes reflected the same emotions. And she knew that they widened as the brunette's now free hand started the same journey her hand had taken previously as Beca leaned forward and started, once more, to sing softly in her ear.

"I'm criticized, but all your bullets ricochet. You shoot me down, but I get up…" The brunette crooned into her ear, her hot breath teasing delicately over the sensitive skin. Chloe opened her mouth to sing along, but all the came out was a strangled moan as Beca's fingers slipped under the waistband of her shorts.

"Becs… God, Beca…" Chloe panted, her breathing even more ragged and desperate than before as she clutched at the other girl. Chloe felt her hands spasming almost uncontrollably, clenching and releasing the brunette's hip erratically as Beca's fingers slid even lower. Chloe gasped as, unexpectedly, the brunette pinched her nipple before rolling it between slender fingers.

"Jesus, Chlo… You're so wet." Beca said, interrupting the song as her fingers finally finished their long, teasing decent and Chloe's hips bucked hard, trying desperately to gain more friction.

"Becs… Please, just… I'm so close…" Chloe moaned, her head rolling on the dresser as her hips writhed, desperately chasing Beca's fingers which seemed so intent on driving her crazy. Beca just smiled, nipping her ear before she continued to sing.

To Chloe's delight the brunette had stopped teasing. As she once again reached the chorus of the song, Beca slid first one, then two fingers inside her. The redhead cried out as she felt herself gripping Beca's fingers, which had immediately started to slide backwards and forwards, thrusting in and out of her in pace with the song. That one, tiny part of Chloe's brain that was still trying to analyze everything realized that she had never before fully appreciated just how much _Titanium_ really did build, before it was swept away in the tidal wave of feelings crescendoing inside her, come so close to their last final peak.

"Hey Ginger, get that ass up, it's time for pancakes!" Cynthia Rose's voice woke Chloe with the most unwelcome feeling. Her body was slick with sweat, her breathing beyond erratic. Chloe knew herself, knew that even the slightest touch now would push her over the edge. But it wouldn't be Beca's hand doing the pushing. Wouldn't be Beca's voice serenading her to orgasm.

And that made it all seem so hollow.

Holding back her tears of frustration, Chloe lay on her bed for a while, a long while, as she tried to regain some semblance of composure. In the silence of her room, she focused on other things. Other things that didn't involve a tiny, brunette DJ's skillful fingers or siren-like voice. She could hear the girls moving around downstairs, some clamoring for butter, others for syrup. She heard a clattering from the kitchen, no doubt whoever had decided that today was to be Pancake Day making more of the golden brown nuggets of deliciousness. And she heard something else, coming from upstairs.

"Good lord, Shawshank, aren't you up yet?" Amy's voice, as usual without a volume control, was drifting through the floorboards to her room. Hearing the Aussie girl moving around, Chloe tried to block out the sounds as thinking about Beca was definitely not what she needed to do to calm herself down. But Amy's next words broke through her self-imposed block as she asked, "Why are you so flushed and breathing so hard? Were you having some smexy-time dreams? Awww yiss! Get some, girl… And, speaking of getting some, I'm gonna go get me some pancakes before those flat-butts downstairs eat 'em all. I just wanted to make sure my roomie got some too. So hurry that ass up, shorty!"

It was another ten of fifteen minutes before Chloe finally made it downstairs, still in the PJ's she'd worn to bed, to find nearly all the girls sitting around the living room talking and happily eating pancakes. The only ones missing were Jess and Beca, and judging by the thuds coming down the steps, Beca was on her way down. That meant that Jessica was probably the one still making a racket in the kitchen. With a rather sleepy hello to the girls, Chloe trudged through towards the sounds of pancake making and found a bright-eyed and chipper Jessica just sliding a half dozen pancakes onto two plates.

"Morning Chloe!" The blond said, smiling a bright smile towards the redhead before turning back and pouring some more batter onto the griddle. Without looking away from the batter, Jess said over her shoulder, "Those are for you and Beca, I think I hear her making her way downstairs. Perfect timing if I don't say so myself… Help yourself, the girls should have the syrup and butter."

"Thanks Jess…" Chloe said, taking her plate and the one for Beca and turning back towards the living room. Just as she was entering it from the kitchen she saw Beca, also looking tousle-haired and sleepy, coming in from the hallway. Their eyes met briefly before Chloe, embarrassed still about the crazy dream she'd had, looked away quickly. Of course, she missed it when, a moment later, Beca did the same thing.

"Aca-awkward…" Amy muttered, who obviously hadn't missed it, as the two girls stood in their respective doorways. As expected, that prompted movement from both girls as Chloe stepped in to the room, holding out the plate towards Beca.

"I, uh, got your pancakes, Becs…" Chloe said, trying not to blush as she looked back at the brunette.

"Uh, thanks Chlo… Where's the…?" Beca said, taking the plate and looking around before Stacie, who was watching the pair as well now after Amy's muttered words, held up the butter. Smiling her thanks, Beca moved towards the couch where room had been left for her, and judging by the space, Chloe as well.

Chloe tried to act normal and not nervous or embarrassed as she took the seat next to Beca on the couch and, without looking at the brunette, accepted the butter knife once Beca had finished using it. Stacie, her gaze looking between the two girls, must have felt that more was needed to break whatever weirdness was going on as she got up from her seat and walked towards the mantle saying, "You know what, it's too quiet. I think music is needed… Beca, may I?"

Out of the corner of her eye Chloe saw Beca look up and, realizing that Stacie was gesturing towards the radio on the mantle that held her music player, nodded. Almost immediate the music came on, and Chloe nearly choked at the first song.

Beca's _Titanium/Bulletproof_ remix from her freshmen year.

Her gaze jumped immediately to Beca, who was also just recovering from her own bout of choking and, blushing, refusing to look at Chloe.

She knew.

Somehow Beca knew and Chloe had no idea how. But Chloe knew she knew. OF course, that wasn't possible… Right?


	3. Nocturnal Conclusions

**A/N:** Well, here it is. Three months to the day since the previous chapter came out, and I sincerely apologize for the long wait, guys. If it makes it any better, this chapter is freaking massive. I almost cut it down and left off a chunk at the end, but Zap insisted that I finish. Might as well go big or go home, eh? Speaking of Zap, he has a note for everyone here...

 **Zap's note:** I want it known I went to great lengths, well at least as great of lengths as really possible in such a scenario to get this out now. I also want it noted that this was betaed listening to YYZ. Bonus points to anyone that knows A) how it's pronounced and B) gets why it's kind of appropriate given the song origins. Smeg's been tasked with getting something else out on the Ides of March, let's hoping we can do it.

 **WARNING:** There's a bit of a misconception about events that take place in this chapter that some people might not be a fan of, but it all makes sense in the character's head at the time.

 **A/N 2:** Well, this basically concludes this fic, save for the fact that Zap is working on an epilogue for this because he needs to get him his Staubrey fix. I don't know when it'll be done, but he claims he knows what he wants to do with it, so hopefully soon. I hope everyone loved it. If you REALLY loved it, let me know and maybe I can maybe come up with some sort of follow-up. Anyway guys, I hope you enjoyed the ride and had as much as I have. Please, please, PLEASE take a moment if you did have a good time to leave a review and let me know. Also, if you want some sort of follow-up, feel free to drop a review too. That's all for me, back to more Forgive and Forget followed by the thing Zap mentioned in his note.

* * *

 **Nocturnal Conclusions**

"Alright aca-bitches, I got the room keys!" Fat Amy's voice jolted Beca awake. Her head springing up from Chloe's shoulder where it had until so recently been comfortably laying as her eyes darted around the wide, spacious hotel lobby. Seeing the amused smiles on the faces of all the Bellas, especially Amy's, and the fondly indulgent, one might even say loving if one didn't already know that Chloe wasn't into her in that way, one which Chloe wore, Beca realized she must have dozed off shortly after sitting on the couch with the redhead.

Through a contact of Amy's, a former boyfriend because she "wouldn't dare to mess around on her man", the group of Bellas had managed to score a group of rooms at this fantastic Copenhagen resort for far, far less than the going rate. Which was good, because with all the shenanigans that had happened over the last year, including their tour being canceled, the funds available to the group for travel expenses wouldn't have covered a place even half as nice as this one. Especially with the girls all getting separate rooms.

"Now that Beca's awake…" Amy said, rolling her eyes at Beca as she extricated herself from Chloe and stood up. Holding up a set of sleeves which no doubt held their keys she said, "So… There was a bit of a change, last minute. They had some last minute bookings come in, and, uhhhh, well, we're gonna have to double up a bit…"

"Oh, that isn't a problem at all, Amy. I mean, we've only been living in the same house for how long now? We can totes handle doubling up." Chloe said, standing up beside Beca and putting a hand on the short brunette's back. Beca had just opened her mouth to say something to the contrary, but at Chloe's touch she instead took a deep breath and nodded, her teeth clicking as she shut her mouth.

"Perfect! So since I kinda had to give them names… Jashley, you guys have one room." Amy said, reaching out to hand one of the sets of keys to the two quiet girls who had basically been inseparable since their freshmen year. The two just nodded and, after smiling at each other, took the keys happily. Amy looked towards Cynthia Rose with a slightly sheepish expression on her face as she said, "Black Beauty, uhhh… You're with Lily."

"I'm what?!" CR said indignantly. Leveling a glare at the Australian woman, Cynthia Rose took a menacing step forward, which caused Amy to raise her hands and hastily explain.

"Uhhh, it was… It was you or Legacy, and I don't think we need to corrupt poor, innocent Legacy like that, do we?" Amy said, taking a hasty step back. Quirking her eyebrows curiously at the other girl, Cynthia Rose at least stopped her advance before they caused any more of a scene.

"Why was it only the two of us? What about …" CR started to ask, but Amy interrupted her.

"Well, naturally Chloe and Beca are together, duh. Flo and Lily wouldn't work, cuz that's like putting crazy with crazy…" Amy started to explain, only to have two voices rise up in protest. And, well, Lily's lips moved, but since no one heard her, it didn't really count.

"Are you calling me crazy?" Flo's response was immediate, but not quite as fast, or as loud, as Beca's protest.

"Wait a minute. What do you mean, 'naturally'?" Beca asked, also taking a step towards Amy threateningly. The absolute last thing she wanted, now, was to spend more time in close proximity to the redhead. Especially after those weirdly disturbing dreams she'd been having lately…

"Awww, come on, Becs! It'll be fun. Like our own personal sleepover!" Chloe, ever the bubbly optimist, restrained Beca with a hand on the shorter girl's arm. As Beca was spun around, Chloe put on her best pout, which everyone knew was formidable, and Beca was powerless to deny her anything.

"Like I said, naturally…" Amy said when it appeared that Beca wasn't going to protest any further. Turning towards Flo she just shrugged and said, "I mean, I meant it as a compliment. Like, the good kind of crazy…"

"Hmmph. Well, back in my country…" Flo started to say, but was cut off by CR, who noticed a pair of names that had been left off the list.

"Huh, I notice that neither you nor Stacie were mentioned…" Cynthia said, raising another eyebrow at the blond girl.

"Uhhh, well, yeah. I kinda figured that Stacie–" Amy said, before another voice interrupted. One very familiar to all the Bellas, though none of them had expected to hear it here so soon.

"Stacie will be rooming with me, naturally." Aubrey said, stepping into the group of girls and, after a delighted shriek and a thorough kiss from Stacie, took the keycard the blond was offering her.

"Baby! I didn't know you'd be here so soon. I thought you weren't leaving Atlanta until several hours after us." Stacie said, after adding a hug for her girlfriend into the greeting. Beca knew that Aubrey had tried her hardest to get onto the same flight as the Bellas, but it had been booked up. As a result the blond had had to schedule a later flight to Denmark, which shouldn't have landed for another hour. Aubrey's flight had been going through Toronto, which had meant that they couldn't even meet up in Frankfurt for a quickie as Stacie had been hoping. Naturally that made for a rather depressed and grumpy Stacie as they hung out in Germany waiting on their connecting flight.

Of course, knowing that they were going to be seeing Aubrey and actually seeing Aubrey was another story. All the Bellas moved over towards the blond and gave her hugs and heartfelt words of welcome and delight. Even Beca went over to give her former captain a hug. They may not have gotten on the best while still at Barden together, up until the very end at least, but they'd since become good friends. Maybe not as good of a friend as Chloe, but the blond was still a bit uptight for Beca's tastes at times.

"Hey Aca-tator, glad you're here." Beca said after the hug, the affectionate nickname for Aubrey drawing the anticipated smile from the blond. Ever since she and Stacie had gotten together as a couple even Beca had to admit that the blond had started relaxing a bit. And Amy wasn't shy about making jokes about exactly why she was more relaxed. Jokes which generally embarrassed everyone who overheard them, well except Stacie if her smug grins were anything to go by. Stepping back so Chloe could get a hug from the blond Beca went on, "It was awesome of you to help out with all of this, too. I couldn't have done it all without you, neither of us could."

"She's not wrong, Bree. We have been so busy since the retreat it isn't even funny. Between getting the set together, doing the choreo and everything else… You've been amazing." Chloe said, her voice slightly muffled from its place in Aubrey's hair. When the redhead stepped back Beca thought she saw a look pass between them, but dismissed it as her imagination.

"You guys know that Bellas help each other out. Just look at the response we got from the email blasts we sent out. I was happy to coordinate. Regardless, I don't know about you guys, but I just had an incredibly long flight and I wouldn't mind going up to my room to relax and maybe get in some cuddle time with my roommate before dinner, so…" Aubrey said, pulling Stacie to her with a finger through the tall brunette's belt loop. Stacie responded with a kiss and a whisper, which everyone had a feeling was "I hope there's more than cuddling involved".

"Yeah, the relaxing part of that sounds great…" Beca said, moving away towards her luggage after grabbing the keys from Amy's dangling hand. Around her she heard the others chuckle as they all moved apart to gather up their own stuff, Cynthia's protests about the roommate situation continued as it now appeared that Amy would be rooming alone. Eventually the blond Aussie said that CR was welcome to try and crash in her room, but that Bumper was going to be flying in sometime in the night and she might not want to be there to witness their reunion after having been apart for 20-odd hours.

That pretty much earned a shudder from everyone in earshot. And as Beca was concentrating REALLY hard on not imagining it, she failed to notice Chloe had snuck up beside her until the redhead hip checked her lightly.

"Awww, Becs. Are you trying to say you don't wanna cuddle up with all this?" Chloe said playfully, her hand gesturing up and down her form. _Her perfect, perfect form._ Beca internally winced as her thoughts spiraled out of control and altered the gesture into something not so innocent, not that anything Chloe did was innocent when it was related to her really. She really needed to get a hold of her brain if she was going to survive the week. Chloe's voice was usually effective at getting Beca out of her head, and when the redhead spoke up again it was no different, "You know it isn't the first time. Hell, it isn't the first time this month. You know I need cuddles when I get sleepy, and I didn't bring Mr. Snugglesworth with me on this trip."

"First off: Jesus Chlo, not in front of the others. Christ, they already tease us bad enough without adding that on. And second: why you didn't bring that ridiculously named bear with you anyway is a mystery to me. It's almost like you knew Amy was going to double us up…" Beca said, eyeing the redhead suspiciously as Chloe looked anywhere but into Beca's eyes. That pretty much confirmed her suspicions, and Beca just shook her head, stopping at the elevator and pushing the button to call it.

"I mean… She might have mentioned that we could, possibly, need to double up. Depending on the situation. But that she wouldn't know until we got here." Chloe said finally as the elevator ticked down towards the lobby. Beca winced, however, as the redhead rounded on her and shook a finger under nose while saying, "And what do you mean by that other bit? Are you embarrassed by me, Becs?"

"No, no. Of course not, Chloe. I'm just… I…" Beca let out a sigh of relief as the elevator dinged to let them know it had arrived at last. Beca could tell that Chloe wouldn't be distracted so easily, but as the rest of the Bellas swarmed into the elevator after them, the redhead at least conceded to dropping the point for now. Everyone chattered excitedly as the car started moving upwards, and Beca couldn't deny that she was pretty stoked for all this too.

What college student wouldn't be beyond thrilled to have a trip to Copenhagen, Denmark come in their last month of time at school? And to be able to go with the Bellas, the only real friends Beca had had since she was a kid, made it even sweeter. Of course, there was still a shadow looming over it all, one which no one had really acknowledged, but Beca had been thinking about more and more of late. The fact that they had the whole graduating thing to do when they got back to Atlanta, and that they'd probably never be seeing each other again afterwards, well, yeah. Beca shoved that out of her mind as the elevator dinged onto her and Chloe's floor.

Aubrey and Stacie climbed out too, they were just down the hall from Beca and Chloe, and Beca turned back to face the girls in the elevator and put on her captain face. Pressing one hand into the door to hold it open she glared at them all and said, "Ok, I know we've been flying all night, but I'm sure everyone wants to go sight see today, yeah? So what I'm thinking is that we split up for a couple hours then meet back downstairs at 2, we can do a late lunch, then go spend some time wandering around town. They want us to check out the venue tonight, but that won't take long. Tomorrow we have the whole day to be tourists… I'll see everyone downstairs in a few hours."

A general chorus of ascent, including an "Aye aye, Captain" from Amy met her words and Beca took her hand off the elevator door which promptly slid closed. Turning around she saw Chloe just turning away from her, an unreadable expression on her face. Her attention, though, was drawn to Aubrey and Stacie. The latter was grinning back and forth between her and Chloe, while the former was looking solely at Beca with a rather impressed expression on her face.

"Not bad, Beca. I almost thought I heard a little of myself in that speech. I'm glad to see I've rubbed off on you a bit." The blond woman said before picking up her bags and turning to the left towards her room. Beca, squinting at Aubrey's back, realized that Chloe was already starting to head down to the right, towards their room no doubt, but Stacie had paused to mutter something which the shorter brunette desperately wished she hadn't heard.

"I'll rub off on you in a minute…" Stacie's whispered. Though far from the dirtiest thing that Beca had heard her say, it jolted the younger captain into motion. Hoping to put some distance between herself and those two before any "rubbing off" happened, Beca caught up with Chloe quickly and ended up beating her to their door.

Fumbling with the key card in her haste Beca kept trying to open the door only to have it fail. She'd tried about four times before Chloe caught up, grabbed her hand, and in one smooth motion got the door open. Chloe couldn't help but comment, "You're as bad as Josh on The West Wing"

Beca's slightly panicky gaze met Chloe's amused one as the brunette said in a terrified half-whisper, "Whatever that means. We need to get inside this room before those two start having sex in the hall. It's been, like, 20 hours for Stacie. 22 if you count the time getting ready and getting to the airport. I'm surprised she lasted through the elevator ride!"

"Awww, and here I thought you couldn't wait to get me into bed, Becs. This is me disappointed." Chloe said, her face falling in disappointment that was ruined only by the small, half-smile she wore and the twinkle in her eyes that she got whenever she was teasing the short brunette.

"Fine then, you can be out here when they start humping against the wall then…" Beca said, barely sliding past Chloe into the room. Her breath hitched slightly as she moved past the older girl, however, because of how Chloe was standing Beca felt almost the full length of Chloe's body rub along hers. And that most definitely wasn't what Beca needed as she stepped into the room and saw what were going to be the sleeping arrangements for the next week she'd be spending in Denmark.

Sitting squarely in the middle of the bedroom with nothing to block the view through the open doorway, was a single, queen-sized bed.

 _Fuck my life…_ Beca thought as she froze. Wondering how it would seem to Chloe if she insisted that the redhead take the bed while she slept literally anywhere else. Like in the fucking shower.

Chloe, it seemed, didn't have a problem with the apparent single bed situation as the ginger strolled into the room and breezed past Beca. Leaving her suitcase against the edge of the bed, Chloe turned a graceful pirouette on the spot and fell, her red hair fanning out around her head as she dropped, to bounce twice on the bed. Her delighted giggles drifted to Beca, who stood rooted to the spot as she watched Chloe scoot farther up onto the bed.

"Becs! Come on, join me. This thing is soooo comfy!" Chloe's voice came from somewhere in the mountain of pillows that adorned the head of the bed, and the sheer pleasure in it drew Beca without the brunette's conscious mind really making a decision. She was standing at the foot of the bed, her own suitcase left standing against the wall, when a brilliantly beaming red framed face emerged from the pillows to beam happily at Beca.

"Jesus Chloe…" Beca said, exasperation plain in her voice as she shook her head at the redhead's antics. Of course, she wasn't sure if the epitaph was because she wanted to do nothing more than join the redhead amongst that pile of pillows and kiss her until she couldn't see straight, no pun intended, or because she was finding her chest oddly tight with bemused delight at the sheer joy on Chloe's face right now. Either way, she reaffirmed her earlier thought.

 _Fuck my life…_

* * *

A tousle-headed Chloe Beale slowly swam up through the piles of fluffy blankets and mountain of pillows to emerge into the early afternoon Copenhagen air with a delighted smile on her face. Ok, really she hadn't actually moved anywhere, but that was probably because an arm was wrapped securely around her waist and a leg was currently pinning her own onto the mattress. Still, she raised her head and looked behind her as best she could into the still sleeping face of Beca Mitchell and felt her heart swoop a little at the sight.

Sure, she hadn't been lying when she'd said a few hours earlier that this wasn't the first time that they'd slept in the same bed, or even the first time this month. But Chloe always took special delight in napping beside the normally grouchy DJ. And she especially loved waking up before her.

With extreme caution Chloe rolled over onto her back, doing her utmost not to disturb the still sleeping brunette. As if further evidence was needed of taking a break for naps being the right call, the redhead's shifting didn't disturb Beca in the slightest. Instead, once Chloe had settled onto her back, Beca pressed herself closer to the redhead, if that was possible, and snuggled her head into the crook of Chloe's neck.

Cautiously Chloe reached over to the nightstand on her side of the bed and gently lifted her phone towards her. Once she had it securely in her grip she lifted her hand as high up as she could reach and thumbed the home key twice to activate the camera. Being a notorious taker of selfies the camera was already set to the front facing one and, making a few different faces, Chloe snapped some pics of the snuggling brunette.

Really they were more for proof and blackmail purposes than anything else, Beca always denied being a snuggler when confronted, but Chloe wasn't going to lie to herself and say that she'd never looked through her "Beca Snaps" folder and just spent time staring at the brunette. Was it creepy? Maybe. But Chloe liked to think of it as sweet that even with how much time they spent together, she still wanted to spend more with the brunette.

It had been that, coupled with the odd dreams of the last month or so, that had really made the redhead realize that things between her and Beca were not quite what she secretly, deep down in her heart-of-hearts, wished they would be.

But at the same time, she didn't know how to change things. And that's what killed her mood and froze her tongue whenever she thought to broach the subject of what could be with Beca. Hell, it had been hard enough to bring it up at the retreat as they lay side-by-side, heads so close she could have reached out with her tongue to lick Beca's nose. And that time she'd been as oblique as she could about the subject. Talking about "experimenting" in college. Well, everyone _knew_ what you meant when you referred to experimenting in college.

Everyone except Beca, apparently.

After they had gotten back from The Lodge, Beca had approached her in the house and offered to talk to her father, the English professor, about seeing if Chloe could get in to audit a chemistry or physics lab if she really wanted to. Chloe had just about dropped her cup of tea onto the kitchen floor. It astounded her at times just how clueless Beca could be, but it was also completely adorable.

That's why the redhead had thanked her for the offer, given her a hug, and then explained that with the Bellas needing to finalize their set list, get choreography figured out, and all the rest of the stuff that had to be finished before Worlds, she just didn't have time. She'd even gone so far as to kiss the brunette on the cheek as a thank you. It wasn't the first time she'd done so in the four years she'd known Beca, but they were rare enough that it froze the shorter captain to the spot long enough for Chloe to escape to her room where her head fell back against the closed door in exasperation at the younger girl.

Setting her phone down on the bed beside her, Chloe wrapped her arms around Beca as best she could and hugged the brunette to her side. When Amy had told her, just before they left, that they'd end up having to double up in rooms Chloe had made sure to know that Amy wouldn't be staying with her Bella house roommate while in Copenhagen. The blond girl had paused, raised her eyebrow in a very Beca-ish manner, and then just said, "Brown chicken, brown cow…"

Now, Chloe wouldn't _object_ to that happening. But she simply wanted to make the most of what might be one of her final chances to spend time with the short brunette. Considering that, three years earlier, Beca had been all hot to trot to head out to LA, well, she expected that now that her college days were over, the itch was back. Especially after she'd been doing so well at her internship. Though, come to think of it, Chloe wasn't sure if Residual Heat had LA offices.

Regardless, if they didn't then surely Beca's boss had people he could put her in touch with when the girl flew off to LA, which was likely to happen shortly after their return from Copenhagen. And that was why she insisted that she and Beca be roomed together.

And certainly not for any reason that had anything to do with poultry or bovines of any color.

However it didn't explain how twenty minutes had mysteriously passed with Chloe simply looking at Beca, memorizing the lines of her face, or how her lips curled upwards just slightly as the brunette smiled in her sleep. But sure enough it had, and it only dawned on Chloe that it had as Beca's face scrunched up in a most adorable manner as though she finally felt the unwavering scrutiny of Chloe's look and decided that enough was enough. Which was probably all for the best because it wasn't until Chloe was pulling back from the scrunched up, yawning face, that she had realized how close they had been to each other.

She had literally missed kissing Beca by an inch.

Deciding to play the role of just having woken up a couple minutes before, instead of having to awkwardly explain how she'd actually woken almost a half an hour ago, Chloe smiled sleepy at the stormy blue eyes which had just made their first appearance of the afternoon and had immediately locked onto Chloe's. Beca was obviously still half-asleep, because her eyes lightened perceptibly as a full-on smile stretched the slight curving of her lips from sleep.

"Mmmm, mornin' Chlo… What time is it?" Beca's sleepy voice mumbled, barely audible before the brunette snuggled back into her side to block the bright light from her eyes. If Chloe hadn't been fairly sure of how she felt about the short brunette before this, then seeing Beca at her sleepiest was always enough to tell her where those chips had fallen.

With her eyes still on the top of Beca's head, Chloe groped for her phone for a minute before finally locating it. Pulling it to her and thumbing it on she almost jumped out of the bed. She might have, if Beca hadn't have just let loose a prodigious yawn into her little nook, which caused Chloe to shudder involuntarily as the younger girl's hot breath ghosted over her bare neck and shoulder. Swallowing hard she got a hold of herself enough to say in a voice husky with both sleep and something else, "Uhh, like, quarter to two."

Chloe was able to make it to a three count before what she'd said broke through the sleepy bubble surrounding Beca. When it did, however, the result was hilarious. The short DJ jerked as though she'd been tased and her head shot up in a wild panic. Her hair, in the most ridiculous, and in Chloe's opinion adorable, state of disarray was sticking out at all angles as she looked around the room and said, "Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck! The girls. They're gonna be… We gotta go."

"Oh Becs, calm your tits. They'll totes be fine without us for a few minutes, Aubrey's with them. Besides, we're meeting in the lobby. What trouble can they get into down there?" Chloe said, her words interrupted in the middle with a large yawn. When she finished, she lay back into the heap of pillow and stretched sinuously and yawned a second time. When she sat up after the stretch she saw Beca just turning away from her, a distinct shade of red tingeing her cheeks.

"Chloe… There's a bar downstairs. And Aubrey's probably still naked with Stacie." Beca said, starting to climb out of bed to hide the fact that Chloe's stretching had drawn her eyes like an iron filing to a magnet. And the way that the other girl's shirt had ridden up to reveal her incredibly well-toned abs was most decidedly _not_ helping Beca's state of calm. Looking around the room she finally spotted her luggage where she'd left it against the wall and hurried over, grabbing a pair of jeans that are comfortably ripped at one knee, a red tank-top and a sleeveless denim jacket. After a glance out the window where she sees rain dripping down past the glass, she pulled out a cute little fedora Chloe had talked her into buying months ago. Looking back at the redhead, who was still just sitting up in bed and looking around sleepily, Beca repeated herself, "They have alcohol and no supervision, Chloe! We gotta go, no time for showers!"

"Damn… You might be right." Chloe finally admitted before moving to get off the bed herself. By the time she was standing Beca had, much to her disappointment, vanished into the bathroom to change. Shrugging to herself, the redhead walked around and found her own luggage and started rummaging through. Pulling out a pair of brown leather boots, a pair of skinny jeans, and a pink blouse with a pretty print on it that she'd always liked, Chloe smiled down at the outfit laying on the bed. Then she frowned as she realized that something was still missing. Diving back into her luggage she hunted around for a few minutes before she found it. Adding the last item to the ensemble she nodded definitively as the red belt finished it off perfectly.

Reaching down she grabbed the hem of her shirt and yanked it up, neither paying attention to nor caring that the window was open and Beca was likely to come out of the bathroom at any moment. Getting her hands under the waistband of the yoga pants she'd worn during her nap she tugged them down and stepped out of them and was just tossing them back into her luggage when the she heard the bathroom door open behind. Followed immediately by a squeak of surprise and Beca's voice, "Jesus, Chloe. Do you, like, have no sense of privacy?"

"Awww, Becs, it's not like you haven't seen it before." The redhead said, turning around to face Beca, whose eyes went wide as she turned around and stood awkwardly in the doorway. Chloe just laughed and turned back to her clothes, finding a pink bra and pulling it on. When she had she said, "You can turn around now. And besides, you know I'm…"

"Yeah, yeah, you're confident about all that." Beca said, turning around, her gaze still slightly averted, though Chloe saw her peeking up every once in a while. The redhead just smiled to herself as she started to get dressed. She heard Beca moving around to her luggage and then, a few seconds later, the sound of a brush being pulled through the chocolatey locks that haunted her dreams.

"If I recall, you said that I should be. And so I am." Chloe said, pulling her jeans on and tucking the blouse in before pulling on her boots. Finally she did up the belt before stepping up behind Beca who was hogging the mirror to see how it all looked. After a satisfied nod to herself she went back and tossed her shirt on top of the yoga pants and shut her luggage. Turning back she saw Beca just staring at her in the mirror, jealousy written over her features.

"How? Like, seriously how do you just do that? I mean, we both just got up out of the same bed, right?" Beca said gesturing with her hairbrush back towards the bed. Chloe looked at it, then looked back to Beca and nodded, looking confused. Beca just huffed angrily and went back to brushing her hair as she muttered, "I don't fucking get it. She literally just rolls out of bed, and her hair is perfect. It isn't fucking fair…"

Chloe laughed when she realized what Beca was talking about. And that only made the scowl on the brunette's face deepen. Despite Beca's assertions that her hair was perfect, however, the redhead did grab her brush and give it a few quick strokes, just to work out any knots she didn't see.

Finished getting ready, Chloe strode to the window and finally saw what Beca had seen earlier. Namely the rain coming down. Smiling at her own genius and forethought, Chloe skipped happily back to her bags and pulled out her favorite umbrella, the one with the black and white strips and the pink fringe. Beca had called her nuts for bringing it, Chloe had a twenty dollar bill in her purse that said that within the hour they'd be sharing it.

"You ready to go, Becs? As you said, there is supervision that needs doing." Chloe said smiling at the brunette who had just finished with her hair. As Beca was putting her brush away, Chloe's phone dinged with a text message and she pulled it out to read it before chuckling. Holding it up so that Beca, who had just joined her at the door, could read it, she added, "And it seems you were right about Aubrey. Though if you ask me, I think that was Stacie who sent that. Aubrey would never have said, 'Too tired from sex, will meet you guys later'."

"Yeah, ok, glossing over Aubrey and sex let's go wrangle those girls and see if we can find some food. I'm starving!" Beca said and, holding the door open for Chloe like a gentlewoman, prepared for her first foray into the streets of Copenhagen with a gaggle of a capella girls.

* * *

The music was really loud.

That was the first fully coherent thought that Beca could remember having since the party had started. Or at least since Bellas had started handing her drinks and toasting their captains. She was sure that Chloe wasn't as drunk as she was, though the redhead's tolerance had always vastly outstripped her own.

Beca had accused the ginger before of storing alcohol in the place where her soul should have been, but had only received a mischievous smile and a pillow in the face as a response. But Beca was pretty sure she was right about it. Regardless, she hadn't seen the ginger in a while, though the exact amount of time was beyond her reasoning capacity at this point, but she did know vaguely that she was wandering around the massive after party looking for her.

Stepping from one room of the celebration to another Beca saw a massive banner hanging over the sliding glass doors leading out onto the deck and smiled as she read, "Barden Bellas, A Capella World Champions". It made her feel warm and fuzzy inside because they'd done it. They'd won. The Bellas were back, baby!

A roar of sound as she stepped into the room greeted her as several Bellas called out her name in various states of drunken slurs and the rest of the crowd took up the cheer. The short brunette wasn't sure where everyone had come from, but she knew that they were all looking for an a capella related party. Well, that's not entirely true, she did see a couple members of the various groups against whom the Bellas had competed that afternoon, evening, whatever it had been. But she wasn't going to begrudge anyone a chance to party. They were in Denmark, might as well live it up.

And so that's what she was doing. Living it up. She'd done shots with nearly all the Bellas tonight. Well, her Bellas. Most of the older Bellas, well, some were around. She'd seen Aubrey earlier, but most of them had long since left. Right now, Beca wanted to find her co-captain and toast the shit out of the Barden Bellas. But Chloe seemed to have vanished from the premises…

That or she was just always one room ahead of her. I mean, they had like four of them on this floor, one of the other groups had been staying in the hotel and, well, it kind of spilled over. Cuz god damn but did a capella people like to party. She figured it must have been a requirement to be part of an a capella group or something. You just had to love dancing and singing and, well, as she thought about it that really made sense cuz that's what a capella was all about.

Walking into a new room and ruminating on the oddities of a capella people, and the fact that she still was one, Beca looked around for red hair. This room, being one of the larger on the floor, had multiple rooms to it even, which when no red hair presented itself in the first room, not the right shade of red hair at least, necessitated that the short, slightly drunk brunette stagger farther into this den of depraved, drinking, dancing folks.

She was still chuckling at the alliterativeness of the phrasing when she walked into the other room of the suite and found a few familiar looking people. Sadly, not the people for whom she was looking.

"Oh look, it's ze tiny maus. Congratulations, tiny maus, you are here to, as they say, gloat before us?" The tall, impossibly statuesque form of the Kommissar from Das Sound Machine stood before Beca, and the short brunette was having a hard time forming words in her head, let alone ones to be spoken.

"What? No…" Beca said, having actually not even realized that anyone from DSM had even come to the party. Of course, the gigantic German specimen of feminine beauty wasn't really who she really wanted to be talking too right then, especially with the way her subconscious had been acting lately. But the competitive side of her couldn't let this opportunity get away. So she smirked up at the tall, blond leader and said, "I mean, we kinda said everything we needed to on stage when we kicked your butts so…"

"Yes, yes. It vas… Vell, acceptable." The German woman said rather dismissively. Beca felt herself getting a little annoyed at the continued air of superiority coming off the girl. It was as though the Kommissar thought that they'd only been beaten on a technicality or something. Sure, she had her own moments of smug self-righteousness, and Chloe would defend the Bellas until the universe ended, but this girl was in her own league of self-centeredness.

"Well, the judges seemed to think so, which is why the trophy currently has our names on it. So, why don't you take your flawless self and go find the losers' corner." Beca said, and even in her drunken state she knew she wasn't making much sense. Her hands were, as seemed common around this girl, moving seemingly on their own, and her mouth wasn't checking with her brain before putting words together. She needed to get out of here and find Chloe, though right now she couldn't remember why she needed to find the redhead so badly.

"Zere are trophies, and zere are trophies, little maus." The Kommissar said, her voice changing from its usual arrogant tone to an almost indecent purr as the tall girl eyed her up and down. Before Beca's brain processed the action the German woman was stepping towards her again, stepping right into her personal space bubble. It immediately reminded Beca of how Chloe almost always stood in said bubble and for some reason Beca never seemed to care. She cared now, though. She started to care a little more when she felt the Kommissar's hands gentle cup her cheeks as the taller woman leaned down and whispered, "I think I've found ze trophy I vant…"

For a brief second, or maybe two or three, Beca stood stock still, letting the kiss happen. Her eyes even fluttered shut briefly as her alcohol-soaked brain replaced blond hair with red. But almost from the start she knew it felt wrong. It took her brain a few seconds to catch on, though, but when it did her hands flew up to the taller girl's shoulders and pushed her away. Everything around her was a bit of a blur of motion as people's attention had been caught by the kiss and Beca had a hard time processing the shades of brown, blond and red around her.

"Oh my god! You can't just… I don't… I'm not!" The brunette said, her mouth again struggling to make sense of things before her brain caught up. Fixing her dark, stormy eyes on the ice blue ones now looking down at her with a slight twinkle, Beca took a deep breath before speaking again, "I can't believe you did that. I'm, uh, flattered, but…"

"Ahhhh, ze redhead… Shame, ze things I could have done with you, you tiny, feisty maus… Auf wiedersehen." Patting Beca on the cheek as the brunette stood, still stunned, the tall girl turned and, snapping her fingers, rounded up the few members of her team who followed her out of the room. Her mind was still stuck on the kiss, however, and how much different it had felt from all the times she'd kissed Chloe.

In dreams.

Damnit, the kisses were only in her dreams. Beca realized she hadn't moved in a minute as said dreams replayed in her head and she found that she was suddenly _far_ more sober than she wished to be right then. Turning on the spot she scanned the room for familiar faces and, seeing none, headed towards the outer room where she knew she remembered seeing at least one Bella. Thankfully even in her state her memory worked as she saw Cynthia Rose and Amy leaning against the counter in the little kitchenette which had been turned into a bar for the evening talking to each other. And, even more importantly, between them sat a bottle of alcohol and some shot glasses. Walking up to the pair she said, making sure she sounded drunk enough, but not completely wasted, "Shot, pitches!"

As expected the pair immediately roared their approval of the idea and, after pouring a few shots and toasting the Barden Bellas, tossed them back. Beca was still wincing from the awful taste of the tequila currently burning its way down her throat when Amy spoke up, "Hey, did I see that tall German freak walkin' outta 'ere a minute ago?"

"What? Uh, I don't know… One more round, for Co-captain Chloe!" Beca said, slamming her glass down on the counter beside the bottle. Without hesitation the two other girls screamed Chloe's name and poured another round of shots, which got tossed back just as quickly. Beca, as she felt another trail of searing heat blazing its way down her throat, felt that she was sufficiently recovered from the run-in with said freakishly tall German to get back to finding the aforementioned co-captain. Unfortunately, after having toasted Chloe and her captaincy, it seemed that one more was in order for Beca's captaincy. And then one for Amy's Australian-ness, and CR's soon-to-be marital status, and then Stacie's tits. But by that point Beca didn't care and simply drank whatever they put in front of her.

Beca scooted around Amy, nearly falling over in the process, and decided that she needed to stop before she passed out. Blinking a few times, and with her vision considerably more blurry than it had been before she'd stopped for shots, Beca slowly made her way out of the room. She could hear Amy and CR doing another round of shots, something about Lily's quiet creepiness, and had a feeling that those two would work their way through the whole team before they stopped. Once in the relative quiet of the hallway, Beca paused to lean against a wall and wondered why it was so crooked for a moment, before she spotted blond and brown wavering down the hall. Blond and brown she recognized.

"Auber, Sacie… 'av 'ou seen Chloe?" Beca asked, not entirely sure if those were the right names, but her brain was telling her she was spot on so she just went with it. Straightening up a little, which conveniently enough made the wall less crooked, though it did sway a little and she made a mental note to tell the front desk about it in the morning, she took a few steps towards the pair who had turned around.

"Jesus, Beca… What the hell happened to you?" She heard Aubrey's voice say, though she wasn't sure which of the two Aubreys said it. Squinting a little she waved her hand dismissively, and found she was leaning against the wall again. It was ok, it was a good wall she decided as she ran her hand against it comfortingly.

"Shots!" Beca said, probably louder than she should have, because she could distinctly hear cheers that sounded like CR and Amy coming from the room she'd just left. She wasn't sure when, but somehow Stacie and Bree had appeared in front of her and were helping her up off the wall. She pushed at their hands, rather ineffectively as she said, "'ey, no touching… My persal, um, my preson… My bubble!"

She wasn't sure, but she thought one of the three Stacies rolled her eyes at her as the other two got an arm under her shoulder. She'd have to watch that third one, she was trouble and Beca knew it. Hearing Aubrey sigh on the other side of her, she turned her head which was a little wobbly, and blinked at the taller girl's shoulder for a moment. When her eyes finally made it to meet Bree's she _definitely_ saw both Aubreys roll their eyes, but she expected that from the blond ex-captain. Instead of the expected snarky comment, Bree instead said, "Come on, drunky. Let's get you back to your room."

"No! Gots ta fin' Chloe… I… We. Shots!" Beca said, raising her finger to emphatically make her point. When she poked Aubrey in the breast instead she just started giggling. Wait. She doesn't giggle. Shaking her head, which made her a little dizzy, she straightened again, looking for Chloe in the hallway. When she didn't see the redhead, Beca looked back and forth between all the Stacies and Aubreys and added in a grumpily defiant whisper, "I not drunk, yer jus blurry."

"Oy vey…" She heard Stacie say from beside her. She hadn't known Stacie was Amish. Or was it Polish folk that said that? Whatever, it didn't matter. The pair started to walk her towards the elevator, the direction they'd been heading themselves, as Stacie added in English thankfully, "Chloe already went down to your guys' room. Like 10 minutes ago. She told us she was tired and was turning in early."

"Oh." Beca said, straightening up and shrugging out of the arms of the two girls as she insisted she could do it herself. They seemed to doubt her, however as they followed close by on each side, which was convenient because the hallway didn't seem to be as straight as she remembered, but eventually they reached the elevator and Beca, after two attempts, pushed the down button. While the car came to their floor, Beca looked at both girls who were smiling at her somewhat affectionately, though Aubrey did roll her eyes when Beca's dark, stormy blues met the blond's pale blue ones that twinkled with amusement. As the elevator dinged the car's arrival, Beca said, "Ya' kno' wha? I li' you two…"

"And we like you too, Drunky Smurf." Aubrey said, with a chuckle as Beca stepped carefully into the elevator and leaned heavily against the back wall. Stacie walked in after the blond and after hitting the button for their floor walked back to Beca and kissed the shorter girl on top of her head.

"You're our pint-sized leader, oh inebriated one. And all of us adore you, some more than others I'd wager though." Stacie said, tossing a wink to Aubrey that Beca missed as she was too busy trying to fend off any more attempts at kissing from the tall brunette. Stacie, laughing at the attempt, moved instead to stand beside her girlfriend and deposited a much more welcome kiss on the blond's cheek.

"Wha'ever that means…" Beca said, straightening herself up, somewhat as the car started moving downwards. She was far too past the point of caring, right now she just wanted to do a shot with Chloe, then maybe dance. Or talk. Or sleep. In fact, all four sounded perfect and she wondered if she could do them all at once. The car, relentless in its pursuit of getting passengers to their requested floors, dinged its arrival on the girls' floor before Beca had really worked anything out. Following the two girls out, swaying slightly on the uneven floor she looked at the wall before her and blinked. Turning her head slowly one way, then the other, she couldn't remember why she was down here. She had to find Chloe. The redhead would know how to do all four things at once, she was smart.

"You're room is that way, drunky. Go on, Chloe's probably sleeping, though, so be quiet." Aubrey said, giving her a little nudge to the right to move her on her way as she grabbed hold of her girl's hips and pulled her in for a searing kiss.

"Oh'my god… Can you please, like, not…" Beca said, turning the direction Aubrey had nudged her in and, with a hand on the wall for stabilization, hurrying towards her door. Trying not to look over her shoulder at the two who were probably making out against the wall or something by now, Beca paused in front of what she thought was her door and squinted at the blurry numbers. When she was finally sure it was, in fact, her room, she carefully fished her key out of her jeans pocket.

As she went to slide it into the card slot a voice burst through the hazy, drunken bubble surrounding her brain. Chloe's voice, repeated numerous times over the last three days, telling her that she always tried to swipe the card too fast. Smiling at the remembered advice, and using a second hand to stabilize the card because the lock kept moving side to side, Beca slowly pushed it in and drew it back out. She was beaming to herself when she heard the lock click and the light flashed green. Chloe would be so proud of her.

Remembering Aubrey's words, she tried as hard as she could to open the door quietly and step through. It kind of failed when she staggered into the wall, but she was still sure she was stealthy as all get up. As the door closed behind her she took in the dark room and realized that Aubrey might have been right. She could even see, laid out in the bed, a lump on Chloe's side that was probably the redhead.

She also heard some soft music coming from the radio on the redhead's beside table and, after a minute it sank in that she was hearing one of her mixes of Titanium that she'd made for Chloe. Smiling at the thought of Chloe falling asleep listening to her music, Beca chucked out the idea of the shots, the dancing, and the talking and instead decided that sleep would be sufficient. In fact, it would be perfect.

Since she was already leaning against the wall, she kicked her boots off right by the door. Starting to walk, as quietly as she could, towards the bed, she undid her pants and gave them a little help down. Considering how unstable the hallway outside was, Beca mentally congratulated herself on getting her pants off without falling over, but figured that maybe the floors here weren't so bad.

As she stepped into the bedroom she could see in the glint of the moonlight coming in through the window Chloe's red hair fanned out on the pillow. The redhead's eyes were closed, telling Beca she was still sleeping, and the sheet was pulled up almost to her chin. A glance towards her own luggage was enough to convince Beca that a t-shirt and no pants was adequate bedtime apparel, but she knew she'd need to take her bra off, cuz that damn thing hurt whenever she slept in it.

As she moved slowly towards her side of the bed she reached back to unhook her bra. She couldn't help but watch Chloe's face as she got closer to the bed. It was a little pinched and tight, and Beca's drunken brain instantly wondered why the redhead looked like she was stressed out. Her vision was briefly blocked by something, she had no idea what, but before she could really set her mind to figuring it out, she was at the side of the bed and had better things to do.

Pulling back the sheet that was all Chloe had covering the bed, Beca slid under it and let out a soft moan of delight at being off her feet. It wasn't until she was actually in the bed that she realized exactly everything that the Bellas and her had been through and how nice it was to lay down for a change. Realizing she was a little chilly Beca rolled onto her side and scooted close to Chloe, the ginger was basically a portable space heater, Beca knew from experience, and so without hesitation she snuggled up against Chloe's side. Sighing her contentment, Beca let her eyes close as she laid an arm over the bare skin of the redhead's stomach without even realizing it and felt herself drifting off to sleep.

The pale moonlight drifting in the bedroom window displayed a most delightful sight, as far as Beca was concerned. It softened the harsh edges of the world and made everything feel a bit hazy. When taken in combination with the soft music playing in the background, music of Beca's own creation, it created what might be considered a picturesque scene.

Especially when the object of the scene was so lovingly laid out before her. Chloe's tanned skin seemed to almost glow in the quiet light of the room. The redhead's breathing was slightly uneven, a sure sign to Beca that Chloe wasn't as asleep as she seemed to be. Beca wasn't sure what had drawn her attention, but now that Chloe had it, the full sight before her took her breath away.

Capping the soft, gentle swells of Chloe's chest, pink nipples stood out stiffly in the cool air of the room. Each breath in and out caused the stiff tips to rise and fall in an almost mesmerizing pattern. Without a thought for consequence, without even conscious effort, Beca's hand slid its way up the trembling skin of Chloe's stomach until her fingers moved slowly into her field of view. She hesitated only briefly when her fingers brushed the base of one of the redhead's breasts. She hesitated because the faux steady breathing had hitched in a startled gasp. But no other protest was heard, and so Beca let her hand continue, her fingers trailing lightly over soft, tender skin.

In circles her fingertips moved, orbiting from the base of Chloe's breast in slow, delicious circles until the side of her finger brushed against the taut, sensitive skin stretching upwards into the night air. Another gasp, this time accompanied by a half strangled moan, greeted her action. She also felt one of Chloe's hands, the one closest to her stomach, bunch up in the sheet as it took a firm grip.

She knew it was probably a dream, they'd been happening often enough of late for her to be familiar with how things started. This one, she was thankful to admit, seemed to be jumping to the best parts. As her fingers swirled their way back down the gentle rise of Chloe's breast and moved towards the other to repeat the motion, the full scope of everything came to her as the redhead shifted and Beca felt hot skin along the length of her body.

Chloe was essentially naked. And what's more, so was she.

She could feel Chloe's side quiver in a delicate tremor as her fingers against brushed against one of the redhead's nipples, this time just slightly more firmly. She felt every inch of the ginger's skin that was pressed against her own exposed breasts, against her toned stomach, against the bare, tender skin of her thighs.

That was how she knew it was a dream. Because she'd gone to bed in a t-shirt, and she was fairly sure that Chloe had as well. The redhead always wore at least a tank top to bed. And since it was a dream…

"Beca…" Chloe moaned her name as she swiftly leaned in, her lips closing around one of Chloe's nipples and taking the aching flesh into her mouth. She felt her co-captain, no longer bothering to pretend anymore, surge upwards and arch into her mouth. She grinned as the hand, so recently gripped tightly against the sheets, moved around to circle her, pulling her in closer and getting a firm grip within her dark brown hair as though to make sure she never moved.

But Beca was happy where she was. Her tongue danced out and swirled around the tender nub, flicking back and forth and drawing another gasp and a raggedly controlled moan from Chloe. One of her hands, the one not supporting her as she rested half on her side in order to lavish attention onto Chloe's aching nipple, had moved to the other breast and gave a firm squeeze.

"Beca… I…" Chloe was trying to talk, but Beca didn't want to talk right then. Right then, she wanted to finally see one of these dreams through to a so long denied conclusion. Moving up farther, Beca pressed her lips against the redhead's, smothering her words in a passionate kiss. She put everything she was into the kiss, everything she'd been aching to tell Chloe but was too much of a chicken shit to do in the waking world.

"No talkies, Red. Just let me…" Beca said when she finally pulled back, her voice husky with her own arousal and weak with lack of breath. Chloe's eyes, normally such a vivid, liquid blue that they shone like sapphires, were darker and the redhead's pupils were blown, dilated to their fullest with unbridled desire and lust. Instead of answering, Chloe only nodded, her teeth biting down on her lip in a move that sent arousal shooting sharp and desperate through her.

Grinning like the proverbial cat that was just about to catch the equally proverbially canary, Beca dipped her head again. She kissed her way along the redhead's jaw, leaving a searing trail of wet, passionate kisses down Chloe's throat until Beca found the spot. She knew she was there when her kiss drew a whimper from the redhead. Dream-Chloe always loved it when Beca kissed right here…

Opening her mouth, Beca ran her teeth roughly over the sensitive spot on the redhead's throat and growled her approval as Chloe gasped and panted, her long fingers griping tightly in her hair. Running her tongue softly over the abused flesh, Beca felt Chloe purring above her, and it drove the brunette wild with her need to mark this woman as her own, even if only in a dream. Again and again she raked her teeth over the sensitive spot, again and again she soothed it with her tongue until she could see the mark on the skin, even in the dark room.

Chloe, for her part, writhed and quivered under the assault, her gasps and whimpers turning to moans as Beca's hand began teasing the nipple pressing into its palm in time with the biting and suckling at her neck. Beca had to go so far as to throw her leg over the redhead's hips, which were starting to twitch on the bed in an effort to relieve some pressure that was no doubt building there. Of course, Beca's action only prompted Chloe to turn and thrust herself against Beca's leg, but the brunette wasn't actually too upset by that. In fact, after she felt the redhead was thoroughly marked Beca rolled over to rise up and survey her handiwork.

Chloe's eyes were closed when Beca settled above her, her thigh pressing tight against the warm, wet heat of the redhead's center. She was whimpering uncontrollable as her hips moved erratically, desperate for more contact, more friction. Desperate for release. The redhead's chest rose and fell sharply, a clear sign of Chloe's inability to control her breathing.

Beca was delighted with the sight. And when the redhead opened her eyes, obviously curious at what had stopped her, Beca only smiled more broadly as she saw lust, desire, and love in the gaze. Dreams do come true, it seemed.

She leaned forward again, making sure to press her thigh against Chloe's core in the process which caused the redhead to gasp out her name again. Beca took full advantage of it to cover Chloe's lips in a soft, sweet kiss, her tongue moving inside the ginger's mouth to take possession of it. The redhead didn't seem to mind as her hand, still in Beca's hair, relaxed slightly and instead held the brunette in place. For a moment the pair fought for dominance, first Beca's tongue seeking the advantage only to find Chloe's tongue darting around try and wrest control of the kiss into the ginger's camp.

In the end, a delicate truce was won, both sides the victor and neither the loser. Beca felt it was quite possibly the best thing she'd ever known. Until she rolled her hips forward and pressed her thigh against Chloe again.

"God, Beca… Please, Becs…" The redhead panted, her lips torn from Beca's as she thrust her head back. The need inside her all too consuming for anymore thought than that. And Beca was happy to oblige.

Latching onto the other side of the redhead's neck she let her hand start to drift down slowly from Chloe's chest over her stomach. When she got to the edge of the redhead's thong she paused for a moment, waiting for whatever it was that would undoubtedly wake her up. When nothing came but another insistent, desperate groan from below her, Beca let her hand move again.

Inching her hand carefully downwards she moved her leg slightly, giving it the barest of room as she blindly explored. The scant cloth the redhead was wearing was damp, one might almost say soaking wet if they were crude enough. Beca was anything but crude, but the sheer amount of liquid proof of Chloe's arousal sent a rush of moisture flooding her own lacy panties.

"Beca…" Chloe whispered the name, almost like a benediction to a higher power as the brunette's fingers ran gently over the swollen, soaking flesh she found there as she pushed the small bit of fabric aside for easier access. Chloe's arousal bathed her fingers as she ran them lovingly over the sensitive folds, but the redhead's need was obvious as she thrust her hips downwards.

Beca didn't fight back as her finger slipped between Chloe's lips, she was too busy being astounded by the redhead's reaction. As her hips had pushed down, her back arched when Beca slipped between her folds. A gasping, shuddering moan had escaped Chloe's lips, and the ginger had brought her own hand up to squeeze one of her breasts roughly.

Beca was enthralled.

The only thing she needed right then, the thing she needed most desperately, was to see the redhead come undone underneath her. She only prayed the dream would last that long. Wasting no more time, Beca slipped her finger already soaked in Chloe's juices inside the redhead gently, feeling each knuckle squeeze inside and loving it. Chloe, it seemed, loved it too as the redhead's voice keened out her approval.

Trailing kisses from the redhead's marked neck down to the breast that Chloe wasn't manhandling on her own, Beca took the ginger's nipple into her mouth and sucked hard. At the same time, she started to pull her finger out slowly. She knew she shouldn't really tease Chloe, but the redhead's grasping, clenching walls begged her to savor every second, to enjoy the dream for everything it was worth.

Unfortunately Beca was never the most patient person, and as Chloe's moans got sharper and sharper, less and less coherent, Beca felt herself matching each thrust of the redhead's hips stroke for stroke. As Chloe writhed beneath her, Beca added the leverage of her thigh, pressing harder and harder into the redhead as she used her palm to rub against the ginger's clit. Chloe writhed under her, the only sounds she was making now were shrill moans of pure pleasure until it happened. Beca felt the bubbling, boiling release surging up from inside the redhead, felt Chloe's walls rapidly start to spasm around her finger, and then she heard the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard.

"Beeeccaaaa!"

She continued to thrust in and out of Chloe as the redhead's orgasm burst over her, letting the redhead come down from her high slowly, drawing out as much pleasure from the experience as she could. Eventually, though, the redhead's death-grip in her hair slackened, her hips stopped bucking uncontrollably against her hand and thigh, and Chloe's hand fell away from her breast to lie limply on the bed.

Letting Chloe's nipple slip free of her mouth with a soft popping noise, Beca rolled off the ginger and onto her side, carefully withdrawing her finger from inside Chloe as she did so. With sheer delight, she brought her hand up to her mouth and licked her fingers clean. Chloe tasted delicious, and Beca hoped the memory of the dream would last long enough to tide her over until she could experience it firsthand.

As she finished cleaning her digits of every trace of Chloe, Beca felt eyes on her. Turning her head she saw that Chloe, though still laying limp against the bed, was looking at her curiously. Smiling back, Beca quirked an eyebrow at the redhead who said, "You look awfully proud of yourself."

"Mmmm, I am. I'm just glad I finally got to finish one of us in one of these damn dreams." Beca said, moving back towards Chloe to capture the redhead's lips in another kiss. Now that Chloe had had her turn, she was wondering if the redhead might maybe be convinced to return the favor, because seeing Chloe orgasming beneath her had damn near pushed Beca over the edge, and she _really_ wanted the redhead's help to get the rest of the way there.

"Uh, Becs…" Chloe started to say after they broke the kiss. The brunette, who had been once again eyeing the ginger's body, looked back up at the suddenly shy and confused tone Chloe was using. When Beca's stormy, dark blue eyes met Chloe's intense, vivid orbs, the redhead spoke quietly, "This isn't a dream, Becs… We're both awake this time."

Beca, only half paying attention to the words that Chloe had spoken, leaned down to nuzzle into the redhead, hoping to provoke her into reciprocating. It was only as she was just starting to kiss the redhead's neck did the true meaning of the words sink in, causing her to pull back abruptly and stare at the redhead. After a few seconds, and with a touch of disbelieving laughter in her voice, Beca replied, "Haha, really funny, dream-Chlo. You almost had me too… Now, come on, it's only fair if you return the favor before I wake up to real Chloe."

Beca was leaning in, pressing herself against the redhead's side as she tried to get her brain in gear and working towards a proper resolution of the dream when she felt Chloe's hand settle on her hip and pinch her. Hard.

And it hurt.

"Ow! Jesus Beale, a girl's got feelings, you know?" Beca yelped, reeling back and furiously rubbing the sharp pain on her hip. As she did a few things crashed down on her at once. Thing one: You generally don't feel pain in dreams without waking up. Thing two: She hadn't been just dreaming when she'd done what she'd just done to Chloe. Thing three: She had basically just forced herself on Chloe. As the third thing settled on her, like really came to rest with its full weight, Beca realized there was a word for what she'd just done.

Rape. She'd just raped Chloe Beale.

She was pretty sure that, in her life, she'd never moved as fast as she did just then. One second she was pressing herself into the redhead's side, the next she was out of bed and flattened against the far wall, her hands covering her mouth. Chloe, for her part, seemed shocked by the action and was no doubt feeling rather disgusted at Beca judging by the fact that as soon as the brunette was out of the bed she had pulled the sheet up over herself to hide her naked body. The naked body Chloe had always been very confident about.

Beca sank to the floor as she really started to think about what was going on. Now that it was all out there, hanging between them, she did indeed put together the pieces that told her she was awake. She could see her clothes, discarded who knew how long ago, in a staggering line from the door to the bed. Right at the edge of her side of the bed, crumpled in a heap, lay her bra and the shirt she'd been wearing. Which, thinking back on her journey to bed explained the brief loss of vision of Chloe and also her own near complete nudity.

The haziness of everything which she'd thought was due to it being a dream, she now also realized, was because she was still obviously a little bit tipsy. That also told her that she couldn't have been in bed long. And, as every detail of the room had sprung suddenly into sharp relief, no doubt so that she would remember the day she ended up going to jail for the rest of her life for, the music she heard was another of the mixes she'd made for Chloe. One of the mixes that Chloe had on her "lady jams" play list.

Beca had been fairly certain that it had been a joke on the redhead's part. A bit of Chloe teasing her because the ginger got a perverse delight out of it. Well, she had a feeling that the redhead wouldn't ever want to listen to it again…

A noise from the bed drew her attention back to the matter at hand as Chloe shifted, still hidden under the sheet, to face Beca with a look of concern on her face. Concern. _For her_.

Chloe Beale was unbelievable, Beca realized. Even after what she had just done, the redhead was still worried about her. Her hands covering her mouth so that she could barely be understood, Beca spoke in a haggard voice as she said, "Chloe… Jesus, fuck. Chloe, oh my god. I can't believe… I'm soooo fucking sorry, Chlo. I can't believe I just raped–"

"No!" Chloe's cry of shock stopped Beca as the word, the dirty, vile word for what Beca had thought she'd just done dropped from the brunette's lips. In a flash Chloe was scrambling across the bed, all thoughts of covering up abandoned as she moved to kneel in front of Beca on the floor. The action, and look of concern in the redhead's startling blue eyes, kept Beca from apologizing further and when Chloe was finally crouched before her, she watched as the ginger slowly reached out and took hold of Beca's hands. Softly, gently, Chloe pulled her hands from her face as she said, "No. God no, Becs… I… You didn't, didn't do that."

"I did, Chloe. I didn't ask, I just… I just took." Beca said, tears welling up in her eyes as the memory, what had for so short a time been her most precious memory, replayed itself in her mind on fast-forward. Her head fell forward as she thought of how she'd treated the redhead, how she'd forced herself on her. It was too late to stop anything, and her tears started to fall in earnest as her chest heaved with the start of sobbing.

Before she could really get into it, however, she felt Chloe rising and pulling her up. Completely confused, with tears running down her cheeks and her chest heaving with emotion, she let herself be pulled up to a standing position. As soon as she was up, she felt Chloe pulling her, tugging her into one of the famous Chloe Beale hugs that always brightened her day and warmed her heart. Except this time it was a little different. This time she felt hot, supple skin pressing against her own and despite herself, despite the shock, humiliation, and rage she felt towards herself, she also felt a rush of renewed desire at the intimate contact.

"Beca. My sweet, sweet Beca…" Chloe was whispering over and over in her ear, Beca finally realized. Her own mind having been far too preoccupied wrestling with itself over the renewed desire for the redhead and the utter revulsion she felt after what had just happened. When she finally did hear Chloe, however, the words which were spoken so tenderly, so lovingly, broke through and jolted Beca to her core. _Her Beca_ …

When Chloe had finally felt her relax a little in her embrace, the redhead leaned back to look into Beca's eyes. Her thumbs came up, gentle and caring, to brush tears off of Beca's cheeks as Chloe said, "Beca. I know you didn't ask, but do you think for a second if I hadn't wanted it, wanted _you_ , I would have allowed it?"

"I… But…" Beca said, her eyes still locked on Chloe's as her hands struggled to find a place to rest. Chloe's hips seemed too intimate, her back seemed too likely to cause the brunette to try and pull the redhead in closer, and her shoulder's seemed too formal and awkward. In the end, and without Beca really having made the decision, her hands settled easily on Chloe's hips and it felt as though they'd finally found their home.

"But nothing, Beca. I wanted that. Hell, I've wanted that for a while now… Far longer than I'd care to admit, if truth be told…" Chloe said, and giggled a little at the end. Beca, still disbelieving that what she thought the redhead was saying was actually being said, opened her mouth to argue more. Chloe's finger covered it before she could talk, and when Beca's eyes found the redhead's she saw that determined look in Chloe's that the brunette always associated with Chloe's "Captain Mode". Still pressing her finger to Beca's lips, Chloe leaned in close and pressed Beca against the wall as she whispered, "I want you, Beca. I want this. I want us. Please, stop freaking out ok? For me?"

Beca wasn't sure which particular thing pushed her over from panic to acceptance. Whether it was the words Chloe was saying, the look in her eyes as she said them, or the fact that the feisty little minx slipped her thigh in between Beca's as she pressed her against the wall. Either way, with the press of all three, quite literally in the case of one, Beca realized that maybe she hadn't … done something so terrible. Maybe instead she'd started something that could be amazing. She found herself nodding, both in acquiescence to Chloe's request and as the future of where things might go from here dawned on her.

As realization and acceptance became apparent on her face, and no doubt lust and desire shot through her look, Chloe finally smiled what could only be called a lustful smile and leaned in to kiss Beca hard and fierce. Beca moaned as the redhead's tongue slid along her lip, and as soon as her lips had parted she felt it slide into her mouth. She heard the other girl growl in response, and it positively made her knees go weak with desire.

Breaking the kiss to pant for breath, Beca moaned softly again as she felt every inch of Chloe's skin pressing against her and pinning her to the wall. In between ragged, gulping breaths she managed to say, "Bed."

The redhead, her chest heaving in mirror of Beca's as she too tried to get in enough air, grinned and stepped back towards the bed. As she did, Beca caught sight of the full glory of a nearly nude Chloe Beale for the first time since her freshmen year and paused to take it all in. She hadn't let herself sneak more than a peak or two back in the shower, but now she raked her gaze over every inch. From where she had paused at the side of the bed, Chloe quirked an eyebrow at her and asked in possibly the most seductive tone ever, "Like what you see, Mitchell?"

"Well, considering earlier, I'd say I do, yeah…" Beca said, watching as Chloe sat back on the bed and scooted onto it, beckoning for her to join her. Beca found herself walking forward before she thought about it, pulled by the siren's song of Chloe's gesture. But she too paused at the edge of the bed as a question suddenly occurred to her. Tilting her head sideways she asked, "Uh. Now that I'm thinking about it, and not that I mind in the least, but why are you basically naked in bed if you had come down here to sleep?"

Chloe stopped still, frozen and jolted out of the seductive moment as embarrassment flooded through her and her cheeks grew red in a blush. With a half-glance towards the radio-clock on Chloe's nightstand which currently held the redhead's mp3 player, Chloe said, "Uh, well… I hadn't exactly been going to bed. You, kinda interrupted me when you came in."

"Holy shit!" Beca said, laughing at the thought and covering her mouth to hide her own blush. Though, if you asked her later, she'd say that the idea of interrupting Chloe while the redhead was playing with herself sounded more than delightful, in the moment she was sure she was almost as embarrassed by it as Chloe seemed to be. Speaking through her hands she said, "Jesus, Chlo… I'm sorry. I was drunk, well, I still am a little. And Stacie and Aubrey said you'd come down to sleep. So, well, I kinda assumed you were sleeping. You were so still."

"Yeah, cuz I'd been, like, almost there when I heard the door open. Ten seconds later and, well, you'd have probably heard a somewhat lesser version of my recent performance…" Chloe said, her embarrassment obviously fading as her cheeks returned to their normal color. As the embarrassed look faded Chloe got a slightly sheepish expression on her face and she said quietly, "It was your fault, really… I saw you kissing the Kommissar upstairs, and I got jealous. So I left the party, and, well…"

"Oh my god." Beca said, burying her face in her hands for a moment as the distant thought of the kiss surfaced. Events since then had completely eclipsed both the kiss and how it was why Beca was still a little drunk. Of course, as Beca knew well with Chloe, that feeling wouldn't last long. Uncovering her face she once again drank in the sight of a gloriously almost-naked Chloe Beale stretched out on the bed as she said, "She totally kissed me. I didn't want… that."

The redhead, as Beca knew, had basically no shame at all and knew very little about personal boundaries. Which was probably why she, instead of letting Beca try to apologize again, merely ran one hand teasingly down her body to between her legs as she said, "Well, do you want to just stand there and watch? Or are you going to join me so I can 'return the favor' as you put it?"

Beca wasted no more time scrambling into bed and climbing on top of her to kiss her with everything she had. She wasn't at all surprised when the redhead flipped them over, pressing Beca down into the bed with a fierce kiss of her own. Before she could really get into it, though, Beca felt Chloe lean up and away from her. Quirking an eyebrow up at the curious look the ginger was sporting Beca asked, "What?"

"Hang on a sec… You talked about dreams. Have you been dreaming about me?" Chloe asked, her voice a mixture of concern and flirty teasing. Beca, for her own part, felt the blush that had so recently graced her cheeks return as she coughed. Her eyes darted around the room for a moment before coming back to rest on Chloe's, which were now sparkling with amused delight.

"I mean, well, maybe. Can you blame me? You're fucking hot, girl. And I had seen you naked…" Beca said, trying for a show of bravado, though she knew that Chloe would see right through it. Sure enough the redhead just giggled again before leaning down to feather a few light kisses onto Beca's face. When Chloe leaned back up again her face still had an amused look on it.

"Couldn't stop thinking about it, eh? Even after four years…" The redhead said, smirking down at her. When Beca just shrugged Chloe's smirk grew even wider. But it only lasted for a moment or two before her expression changed to a more serious one and she asked, "Seriously though, like, lately… Have you been having some intense dreams about me? You'd said you were glad that one us finally finished in one of these dreams…"

"Uhhh… I mean, yeah. Ever since…" Beca said, confusion taking over for desire in her as Chloe looked down at her intently.

"Ever since the retreat." Chloe said, finishing Beca's sentence. Beca knew she looked thoroughly shocked, and her mouth was opening and closing like a fish. She had no idea how to respond to what Chloe had just said, but thankfully Chloe seemed to have a response.

The redhead leaned down and whispered, "Never mind that now. I think I owe you a world shattering orgasm, yes?" And without waiting for a response, she captured Beca's lips in a kiss that told at once of love, lust, and pure devotion.

Beca realized that she couldn't possibly be happier that it hadn't been a dream after all.


End file.
